By Salami Onaivi
As the people of Edo State await the formal announcement of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) deputy governorship candidate with several names been touted by political interest groups, Osarodion Ogie Esq, stands out conspicuously as the best for the position.
Apart from the fact that several opinion polls by members of the party and outside it are heavily tilted in his favour, he is said to be generally acceptable to people in other parties including the opposition All Progressives Party, APC, and the Labour Party, LP, owing largely to his pedigree and kind disposition towards all and sundry. Besides that, his wealth of experience spanning about two decades in governance are readily cited as critical prerequisites that the occupant of the seat should possess.
Ogie’s vast network with the past and present administrations in the state with sterling and impeccable performances have been adjudged as indispensable wealth of experience needed to move the state forward.
Under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, he served as the Chief of Staff and later as the Commissioner for Works. He is currently the Secretary to the State Government and obviously from that vantage position, acts as the engine room of the government.
His steadfastness and loyalty, both to the party and the government he serves, have been described in glowing terms by various party chieftains in the state and even non-partisan individuals. Apart from his loyalty, he commands an overwhelming grassroots appeal across the state. His capacity for providing requisite leadership, especially for the teeming youths across party lines, is said to be second to none.
Ogie, who hails from Edo South Senatorial District, readily fits the bill for satisfying a very important political calculation because of the zone’s unassailable voting demographic of about 58 percent according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 2023 registration data.
If Ogie is eventually nominated by Dr Asue Ighodalo as his running mate, it would be a political masterstroke that the opposition may find difficult to cope with.
