The 2020 Edo State Governorship Election in Retrospect

Defection, the act of switching one political party for another, is one of Nigeria’s usual socio-political ploys and it played out in Edo’s election in a slightly comical fashion.

Written by Ope Adetayo

Nov 30, 2020

The Obaseki Governorship Campaign at Esan South-East, Edo State. August, 2020.. ADEDOTUN SOYEBI / GOVERNOROBASEKI: TWITTER

Earlier this year in September, Nigeria’s attention was on the governorship election in Edo State. Since the election did not happen within Nigeria’s general election period, the Edo State election became the arena for different political battles, foreshadowing the race for power in 2023.

The election’s main contenders were Godwin Obaseki of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Osagie Ize-Iyamu of All Progressives Party (APC) with Obaseki emerging as the winner.

The outcome of the election in Edo is multidimensional as it can be analysed from different viewpoints such as the struggle against political godfatherism; the strength of our democracy and the culture of cross-carpeting or defection in Nigerian politics. Defection, the act of switching one political party for another, is one of Nigeria’s usual socio-political ploys and it played out in Edo’s election in a slightly comical fashion.

The Edo election had an element of repetition: Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu had already challenged each other for the governorship position in 2016 (Obaseki emerged the winner then as he eventually did in 2020). What is intriguing, however, is that both candidates contested in the 2020 election with the parties they contested against in 2016. In simpler terms, both candidates have switched parties in the space of four years—a single political term—joining the party that was the ‘enemy’ some few years ago.

Obaseki defected to PDP in 2020, after internal strife against his then-party’s leaders, a move that led to his disqualification from the party’s primary. Ize-Iyamu, joined APC in 2019 from PDP. While many have praised the election as ‘decent’ by Nigerian standards (considering that the federal ruling party was defeated at the polls without much quarrel), we must note that there is a fundamental flaw to this particular election that we cannot choose to ignore. The switching of parties in this manner by both candidates, while not new in Nigeria, is troubling because it shows a disregard for the integrity of Nigeria’s political institutions.

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About the Author

Ope Adetayo

is a Nigerian journalist and writer based in Lagos. His works, which have been published in English and French, have appeared in Al Jazeera, The Guardian, VICE, TRT World, African Arguments, Sahelien, The Republic, etc. He was longlisted for the One World Media Print Award 2021.

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The 2020 Edo State Governorship Election in Retrospect