The event may have come and gone but the story continues to be told. At the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Edo State, governorship aspirants faced a chastening experience at the main entrance gate courtesy of the tight security arrangements at the venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary. No aspirant was allowed to drive in as they were required to come down of the tinted vehicles they were riding in and walk through the gates with just one or two aides.

The organisers clearly didn’t want any unnecessary crowd at the main bowl of the stadium where the delegates were to cast their votes, hence the decision to subject the candidates to a somewhat lonely experience of trekking some tens of yards to the main bowl, where the voting proper was to hold.

The only exception to this rule was the deputy governor Pius Odubu, a top aspirant to the governorship throne, who perhaps was granted a waiver in recognition of his lofty position as the current number two man in the state.

A mild drama however played itself out at the gate on that Saturday, June 18, 2016, when some supporters of then aspirant Godwin Obaseki and protested to the security men to subject Odubu to the treatment of coming down from his car. Many shouted the words of a popular current Nigerian song “who you help” (who did you help) at Odubu’s convoy. But common sense prevailed and Odubu’s convoy was allowed to drive in.

But that was where the advantage ended for the Orhiomwon-born Odubu. Once inside the primary grounds proper, his fate was to be decided by about three thousand delegates, many of whom he must have counted on for their unalloyed support. But in the end he fell far short of his main rival, Godwin Obaseki. While Obaseki polled 1,618 votes, Odubu got 471.

The general opinion here is that Obaseki has a much larger campaign war-chest than other aspirants.

Speaking with ITV in Benin City, a youth leader in Edo State Solomon Idiogbe shed light on how money played a part in the process and soberly averred that money politics was here to stay.

“Some delegates were said to be in the pay roll of a particular candidate. He was reportedly paying some of them on a weekly basis, some monthly and others daily. In the end he got far short of the number of delegates he had been said to be paying,” Idiogbe said.

So did some delegates double-deal? An Odubu supporter speaking on the condition of anonymity certainly thinks so.

“There were some Judas amongst the delegates who we had counted on,” he told News Express.

Many people told News Express that for the delegates, the Edo APC primary season was an opportunity to make money.

“One delegate told me before the primaries that he had a target that he wants and that any aspirant who is able to cough out the money he wants would simply get his vote. He wasn't willing to listen to any other thing from them,” Idiogbe says.

As the September gubernatorial election approaches, the focus of the nominees (PDP’s Osagie Ize-Iyamu and APC’s Godwin Obaseki) of both parties has shifted to the electorates across the state. For some voters, it’s all about how much the candidates and their parties can give them.

“I’m just concerned about how much I can make through the election. Whichever party gives me good money, I will invite for them,” one youth said.

•Photo shows Godwin Obaseki.

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