by Isi Esene

There are sweet and sour tales coming out of Edo State in the aftermath of the governorship election which was won by incumbent governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

The election outcome was, understandably, a bitter pill to swallow for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A letter from the party chairman, Bamanga Tukur, to Charles Airhiavbere, the PDP candidate in the election, and Chief Dan Orbih, the state party chairman, described the outcome of the election as a “painful loss”.

In the letter, he said:

“Though a painful loss, considering the quantum of preparation and mobilisation which the party mustered towards the election, I identify with the spirited effort and discipline demonstrated by the party under your good leadership.

“I encourage you to keep the PDP family intact. We shall re-strategise and build on your present commitment to reclaim Edo State for the PDP, God willing.

“Kudos to all those who laboured with you while the campaign and election lasted.”

It was however all bliss for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The state Deputy Governor, Pius Odubu, said the election has ended the politics of money and ethnicity in Edo State.

He observed that the people now clamour for the delivery of infrastructural development in their localities instead of demanding for money to vote for certain parties and candidates.

According to the Nation Newspapers, he said:

“The election was a reflection of the wishes of the people. Our victory was sweet because that is what the people want; a man that will perform, not a man that wants to be the richest man in the world.

“You will understand that the Peoples Democratic Party could not even get one quarter of the votes in any of the seven local government councils in Edo south and we won the 77 wards in Edo South, we thank God.

“We asked for sweet victory and we got sweet victory. Oshiomhole has demonstrated that money can never make the difference again in Edo politics. People don’t fight over how much you bring anymore but they are now fighting for which project has not been done in their areas.

“Before, it was just ‘give us the money and you will get the votes’ but none of those hamlets we visited asked for money. It was either they said they needed light, road or water.”

He boasted that the governor had performed beyond the imagination of the ordinary Edo citizen hence the landslide victory recorded in the election.

He assured the people of an even better performance from the ACN in the administration’s second term.

It’s a classic example of ‘different strokes for different folks’ coming out of Edo State.