Edo APC Senator, Domingo Obende Perfects Plans To Dump Party

As a fallout of the ongoing All Progressives Congress (APC) congresses, the Senator who co-sponsored the law against same-sex marriage in the National Assembly, Senator Domingo Obende, representing Edo North, may have perfected plans to return to his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), THISDAY has gathered.

Obende was elected to the Senate for Edo North in April 2011 under the then ACN after repeated bids to fly the PDP flag for the seat became impossible in 2007 and 2011. He was the second APC senator from the state until recently, when Senator Ehigie Uzamere defected to PDP.

Obende, who has signified intention to contest for a second term, has a serious challenger in the secretary to the Edo State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, who is said to enjoy support from leaders and elders of Akoko Edo local government area where Obende hails from.
He was said to have expressed displeasure over the manner the ongoing APC congresses was conducted, a situation that suggested he lost out in the exercise across the six local government in Edo North.

The Senator was sighted in Government House last week Monday making frantic efforts to have an audience with the governor apparently to express his dissatisfaction but he was also confronted with a group of leaders from his ward led by Mr. Samuel Obaro.

During the meeting, Governor Adams Oshiomhole was said to have advised the Senator to go home and carry his people along by harmonising the ward executive lists rather than alienating a section of persons believed to have been supporting another aspirant eyeing the seat.
It was gathered that the Senator, who seems to have been losing political grip and home base support, called a meeting of legislators, commissioner, and other political appointees from the area three days after the ward congresses but was roundly boycotted since the governor was said to have warned against such meetings with aspirants.