The choice of Ogbeide-Ihama by Opkebholo has been described as a masterstroke, as the mainstream PDP members are set to dump the party for APC.
A mass defection will hit the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP ahead of the Edo state governorship election.
The PDP members will collapse the structure for the All Progressives Congress, APC, following the APC governorship candidate in the September election, Monday Opkebholo's choice of the PDP Legacy Group, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, as his running mate.
The choice of Ogbeide-Ihama as the deputy governorship candidate by the APC guber candidate, Opkebholo has sent shivers into the PDP camp, as uncertainties of the imminent collapsing of the party structure into the APC structure were pondered.
Our correspondent learnt this latest arrangement, ahead of the governorship election, was part of the political calculations by a minister from the South-South zone, who is allegedly supporting Okpebholo to win the election.
The party has been embroiled in a series of crises since the February primary election, which produced Okpebholo with Dennis Idahosa, who came second, insisting that he won the primary.
Idahosa has also approached the court to seek redress even when the party hierarchy has settled for Okpebholo.
According to a party leader in Edo South Senatorial District, Jimmy Adesotu, the choice of Ogbeide-Ihama was strategic in the sense that it would give the legacy group a sense of belonging in APC.
“Ogbeide-Ihama is a household name in Edo South and the entire state. His choice will put APC in good stead,” Adesotu said.
As part of the reconciliation process, we gathered that the party has also promised to cede the Senate ticket of Edo South to Dennis Idahosa in 2027.
Idahosa, who is currently a member of the Federal House of Representatives, was not considered for the deputy governorship slot, because of the experiences with Philip Shuaibu, the embattled Edo State Deputy Governor, who was withdrawn from the National Assembly to run with Governor Godwin Obaseki in 2016.
Shuaibu has been accused of causing the crises in the party, leading to Obaseki's decamping to the PDP.
The choice of Ogbeide-Ihama by Opkebholo has been described as a masterstroke, as the mainstream PDP members are set to dump the party for APC.
Recall that the Legacy Group of PDP, considered to be made up of mainstream members before Obaseki joined the party, resisted the governorship candidate of the party, Asuen Ighodalo, whom they said, was imposed on the party by the governors without considering public interest.
