EDO CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT & ITS APC`S GOVERNORSHIP FRONT RUNNERS 2016. Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor & Barrister Kenneth Imansuagbon (The Riceman).

A Review by Prince Kelly O. Udebhulu

“A leader is one who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way; where and when you board your flight never really matter, a successful landing at destination counts…Kelly Udebhulu (2015).”

Before  General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential election in Nigeria, at the March 28th 2015 Presidential poll, these great sons of Esan land have been at their respective private lives, became APC loyalists which arose calculations across the country of their predicted defections to APC anytime. Today, these great personalities defected and their ambitions to rule and put in their best towards the development of Edo state remain firm and strong.

Though we have capable minds from Esan land who are in APC today, like minds as Chief (Dr) Francis Inegbeniki, Mr Joe Okojie, Mr Victor Eboigbe, Hon. Thomas Okosun, and host of others, these two personalities below have in the past, shown interests and still illuminate such ambitions to become the next Edo state governor after the incumbent Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole.

Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor:

Born on Friday, October 5, 1951 in Iruekpen in the present day Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State to Mr. Abraham A. Osunbor, a retired teacher and politician and Dame Felicia E. Osunbor, a retired teacher.

On May 29, 2007, PDP produced Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor as the governor of Edo state. He served as the Civilian Governor of the state from May 29, 2007 to November 11, 2008 after the court nullified his election. On March 2008, the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal declared that Prof. Osubor’s election was invalid, and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw his certificate and declared Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole of the Action Congress (AC) Party the winner. On November 11, 2008, a Federal Appeal Court sitting in Benin City upheld the ruling of the state’s election petitions tribunal, declaring Oshiomhole to be the governor of Edo state. The decision was based on several voting irregularities.

Former Governor Oserheimen Osunbor, Professor of Law and the immediate past governor of Edo State, is a major pillar of the PDP in Edo Central Senatorial district before his defection with his teeming supporters to APC on Tuesday, March 7, 2015.

His defection to APC did not come to many as a shock owing to the fact that despite he was the National Chairman of the Nigeria Law Review Commission under the Jonathan’s administration because many felt he had overstayed in the PDP over alleged illegality that characterized the conduct of the PDP governorship primaries at Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia’s stadium in 2012 where he lost. More often than not, Osunbor prior to his defection had stayed away from activities of the PDP, an indication that his days with the party were numbered. 

Osunbor, who is from Edo Central senatorial district is touted to contest the 2016 governorship election, may have capitalized on the agitation from the people of the zone that it is their turn to produce the next governor for the state. Part of the agitation was that Osunbor only served for 18 months in office between 2007 – 2008, when the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal declared Osunbor election invalid. 

The former governor had in a previous encounter disclosed that he had been under pressure from friends and associates to contest the 2016 governorship election. He was received into the APC by governor Oshiomhole. Oshiomhole, while welcoming Osunbor into the APC family stated, “I will be working with a respected Professor of Law like you and many of you supporters. We thank God for what he has used us to achieve. I appeal to our people to vote for our APC House of Assembly candidates because they will help me to develop our state rapidly and with the APC government at the top, the sky is our limit”.

Barrister Kenneth Imansuagbon (The Riceman).

Kenneth Imansuangbon is a man of many parts. A lawyer, politician, busi­nessman, philanthro­pist and the chairman, of Abu­ja-based Pace Setters Group of Schools. Born on May 4, 1966, into a humble background in the rustic Ewohimi community in Edo State, he rose to fame by dint of diligence, transparency and open-mindedness.

He began his educational pur­suit at the St. John’s Catholic School Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State and proceeded to Ago-Iwoye Second­ary School, also in Ogun State. Though he passed out in flying col­ours in 1981, owing to poverty, the young Imansuangbon had to take to menial job as a technical assistant with the Federal Capital Develop­ment Authority (FCDA) Abuja. He worked with some great expatriates who spotted his exceptional bril­liance and talent and advised him strongly to return to school. Ken did not dismiss that idea with a wave of the hand. While at FCDA, he gained admission to study law at the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile-Ife.

After a stint as a lawyer during which he established Imansuang­bon and Co. Company, a legal firm of which he is a principal partner, he veered into education when he set up Pace Setter Schools. As Chairman of the Schools/Academy with more than three campuses in Abuja and one in the US, Imansu­angbon has for years now offered scholarships to children of mili­tary/police and other security of­ficers who lost their lives in active service.

In quest to promote grassroots sports and youth education, Iman­suangbon has annually organised sports and essay writing competi­tion for secondary schools across the country.In continuation of his philan­thropic gestures, Imansuangbon has for seven consecutive years shared bags of rice on the streets of Edo State every Christmas, a ges­ture which has endeared him to the people and earned him the alias, “Rice Man.

In spite of his contribution to the educational sector in the country, the educationist turned politician threw his hart into the governorship ace way back in 2007 on the platform of the Action Congress (AC), alongside Hon. Charles Idahosa, and Matthew Atama, as the front liners. He left the party in anger and went to the PDP when he lost the AC ticket to Oshiomhole. It was learnt that Imansuagbon, a major financier of the party played a critical role in what has today metamorphosed into APC. In 2012, he again contested for the governorship ticket on the PDP platform in a party primary that as reportedly skewed by party leaders in favor of Major General Charles Airhiavbere.

Before now, Imansuagbon, can be said to be a member of the APC. He was said to have left the PDP in December 2014, over what he attributed to lack of justice, equity and fairness by leaders of the party. He was reported to have predicted a revolution which would sweep the PDP out of power in the 2015 general elections, a prediction that has come past.

The governorship hopeful, who also hails from Edo Central senatorial district, is confident of clinching the APC governorship ticket come 2016, recently revealed to the press why he jumped the PDP sinking ship to work for the APC, in an interview. 

He said, “if you observed, by the time Mr. President visited Benin I was not at the stadium, I was conspicuously absent. In December, I granted an interview where I said I foresaw a revolution in Nigeria.

And what that means was change and I predicted that Jonathan was going to lose the election. So, when Jonathan visited Edo I had resigned my membership of the PDP.

“In PDP, what made them lose the election basically was because there was lack of fairness, equity and justice within the party and even in Edo State majorly. You saw the primaries of 2012, if it was free and fair I would have won the primaries and of course the story today would have been different”.

“I supported Buhari at the general election, thought I was out of the country. My coming to the APC was not about the party but about the honesty of Buhari, I am a Nigerian and what influences me is my love for my country. I saw that Buhari will represent the interest of the Nigeria people better, so I supported him. Even, though I was outside the country then. I asked my people to vote for APC and that was what happened. I supported APC with money tactics and logistics and we delivered APC. I am happy to tell you that I delivered APC against the tyranny of a few”, he declared.

He also expressed confidence that despite he is from Edo central senatorial district, the people of Afemai in Edo North and the Bini’s of Edo South would support his governorship ambition come 2016.