In the strong move to put forward their best hands for the forthcoming governorship contest of Edo State, the Esan ethnic nationality, located in the Central Senatorial Zone, have listed criteria that aspirants from the zone must meet to enjoy overwhelming support. This they argue is to ensure that only viable and capable aspirants who will equally elicit support of the Northern and Southern Senatorial Zones of the state, will be endorsed to angle for the number one seat of Edo State as Governor Godwin Obaseki’s eight year term winds down in November 2024.
Rising from a meeting of the Esan Assembly held at the weekend, under the auspices of the Esan Okpa Initiative (EOI) and attended by some Esan groups in the country and the Diaspora, it endorsed the criteria presented by a six man sub committee headed by acclaimed Constitutional Law Scholar, Prof Mike Ikhariale, which makes the possession of a bachelors degree, as opposed to the constitutional provision of a secondary school certificate, as the minimum for persons of Esan extraction contesting for any political offices. Other members of the sub committee earlier set up by EOI’s Political and Strategic Committee, which comprised largely of egg heads, include Prof. Friday Okonofua, Prof. Ekeikhomen Ejele, Prof. Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, Dr. Roseline Etiti Okosun and Dr. Onoohomen Ebhohimhen.
The meeting which discussed and wrapped up details of the criteria, according to a press statement by EOI’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Tony Iyare, was also attended by representatives of Esan Liberation Movement led by Mr. Prosper Iyere, Esan Descendants Assembly headed by Prof Oyawizo Aluede, Okisemabhegbe coordinated by Mr. Mark Akhuetie and leaders of the Esan World Congress (EWC) in the US and Canada.
