ON MINISTER MOMOH’S ACTION, AFEGBUA IS RIGHT.
Amusingly, the Honourable Minister of Regional Development took a full page, to respond to Prince Kassim Afegbua ‘s comments with respect to his imposition of councillorship candidates in Etsako East Local Government. Let me mention that I find it spineless that the honourable minister was denying what was obvious; because the list of the so-called candidates was signed by himself, and the senator representing Edo North, Adams Aliu Oshiomhole. It is thought provoking and quite unbecoming for so-called political leaders to deny their acts after the issue has been blown open. This has been their usual practice, and what Kassim Afegbua said is very much in order, stating that as a commissioner, and the highest political appointee of his ward, he was neither consulted nor even contacted before the overreach. It is an act of wrongdoing. The usual rhetoric these days is for party chieftains in Etsako East to declare that there is “instruction from Abuja” whereas, the party is fully constituted in the state, with the Governor as leader, and the State Working Committee under Jarret Tenebe and State Executive Committee are fully in place.
How did the honourable minister generate the list of names on which he appended his signature? Was it proper to concoct names without recourse to the honourable commissioner from that Ward? Why was it convenient to overlook the commissioner in the process, even when he, the manipulator, hails from another political ward entirely? Why overlook a man who has been the stalwart of Ward 5, and championed their cause and that of the entire Okpella, all because you hate his guts. As a commissioner in Governor Okpebholo’s cabinet, is he not the highest political office holder in the ward and as such, should have a say in what goes on in his ward? Truth be told, Kassim Afegbua does not meddle into politics at the ward level, because he feels the people at the ward level should naturally drive the process holistically without undermining anyone. The recent crisis emanates from the exclusive position of one Aremiyau Momoh to impose someone as Chairman of the Ward Executive, without intimating Prince Kassim Afegbua.
This action irked the honourable commissioner, who instantly complained to the State Working Committee, and a fresh process was conducted to elect the rightful executives. This development led to the ego-flexing of the Honourable Minister, trying to impose a structure because of his desire to take a nebulous shot at the governorship seat come 2028, without a thought for Governor Okpebholo’s right to seek re-election. It appears that the minister wants to hold his local government by the jugular to champion his own aspiration. While the State Governor has been very loud in championing the aspiration of Mr. President, the minister has been embroiled in playing local and petty politics in a manner suggestive of flexing ego with the governor. Afegbua ‘s censure of the minister’s unilateral decision was a necessary and timely attempt at arresting a conduct that has become peculiar with the minister. Denying his conduct of imposition as mis-information is a fib and a deviation from the real story behind the story.
The Governor presides over the eighteen (18) local governments of the state. Why will the honourable minister generate a list different from that generated by the State Working Committee as the outcome of the congress? What is the minister trying to achieve? The last time we checked, Honourable Abubakar Momoh was defeated in one out of the two Wards in his domain. He won in Ward 9, but lost in Ward 10, during the 2024 gubernatorial contest which brought in Senator Okpebholo. Even as a minister, he could not sway voters to his side. His ego, arrogance, and self-acclaimed superiority over others, is the reason for his defeat. He’s known for boasting that Mr. President calls him Prime Minister, and that he can do and undo. He doesn’t like the face of the local government elected chairman, he doesn’t like the vice chairman either. He’s at loggerheads with the local government chairman of the party; and he complains about virtually everyone who does not follow his dictates.
Kassim Afegbua’s reasoning is that, it was wrong for the minister to be pursuing a motive different from that of the governor of the state. Afegbua is of the opinion that it was morally wrong for this self-acclaimed leader to sit in his cocoon to supplant preferred candidates without due consultations and constructive engagement with critical stakeholders in the locality. The present damage control that the minister and his cronies are trying to do, by condemning Afegbua’s response is a last minute effort to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The Afegbua that I know is not flippant. Aside from being blunt, he’s very honest in his political undertakings. This is why dubious political players don’t find him easy to deal with. Afegbua is not one to keep quiet when wrong things are being done. In Nigerian politics, he’s not a push over. He’s been at the top of politics, as the national chairman of the National Democratic Party, (NDP), he’s been spokesman to the former military president, General Babangida, for over twenty three years, and was a commissioner in Adams Oshiomole’s administration. He is a renowned media consultant also; a political analyst and one of the spokepersons of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation in 2022/2023. The honourable minister should do right and reach this Okpella born prince, to resolve the lingering issues instead of entering into media war with a man who breathes and lives media all his days.
Suleiman Abubakar wrote from Auchi. He can be reached on suleimanabubakar@yahoo.com.