By Ehichioya Ezomon
Kings are imbued with “wisdom” such as was possessed by King Solomon, which God granted him upon his request, as he ascended the throne of his father, King David, and which he showed in resolving the claims of the same baby by two women, “both of whom had recently given birth, but one child had died,” a story told in the Old Testament (I Kings 3: 16-28).
According to nationalgallery.org.uk, Solomon announced that the child should be cut in two, so that each mother should have half. Whereas the other agreed to the proposal, the real mother, unable to bear her son being killed, immediately offered him to the other woman, to save his life. The false mother was thus exposed, and Solomon returned the living child to its real mother.
The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Ukuakpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, needed the biblical “Solomonic wisdom” – a level of sagacity, fairness, and deep understanding of human nature – when lately he received the leadership of the Edo State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Royal Palace in downtown Benin City, the capital city.
The Benin Kingdom straddles Edo South senatorial district of Edo State, where, initially, there’s a running battle between twice governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and former Rep. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama over winner of the May 18, 2026, APC’s primary for the February 16, 2027, National Assembly election.
As Daily Post Nigeria reported on May 18, 2026, while the APC primary elections committee chairman, Mohammad Ajana, declared Ogbeide-Ihama as winner of the poll with 27,154 votes, Sen. Neda Imasuen (APC, Edo South) securing 13,580 votes, and Ize-Iyamu scoring 6,785 votes; the chief returning officer, Abubakar Muhammad Kabiru, pronounced Ize-Iyamu the victor with 33,399 votes, Ogbeide-Ihama with 12,560 votes, and Imasuen with 5,107 votes.
Ize-Iyamu, reportedly elated by the result, expressed gratitude to his supporters, saying, “the victory marks a significant step” as he prepares to represent the APC in the senatorial district, and gave the assurance of a better representation “after the next round of victory” at the General Election in January-February 2027.
However, weeks after the primary, a third result, filed by Sen. Imasuen, has emerged to further muddy the political waters of Edo South. As per The Nation report on June 6, 2026, Imasuen claims to poll 33,700 votes to emerge winner, and the result “has also been submitted to the APC’s national leadership,” even as Imasuen was quoted to’ve urged his supporters to be patient.
“I am telling my supporters to be patient until the (APC) National Working Committee makes a position on it. It is clear that no result will be announced until the NWC declared the result,” Imasuen said, adding, “Whatever result out there is not authentic. They are not result(s) of the election. The result will be released by the NWC. Until that is done, I asked all of us to be patient.”
The contradicting claims have polarised and heated up the Edo South polity, pitting the people – who account for about 55% of the voting strength of Edo State – against Governor Monday Okpebholo and the APC for alleged attempts to “impose” Ogbeide-Ihama due to external influence.
Amid the escalatory exchanges between the Edo South people and the Okpebholo government, leaders of the Edo APC visited the Oba of Benin a fortnight ago, to present Ogbeide-Ihama as the “party candidate for Edo South,” and seek blessings for him, Abuja Times News reported on May 23, 2026.
The high-powered delegation, led by Edo State Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, included former Deputy Governor Pius Odubu, former Deputy Governor Lucky Imasuen, APC’s State Chairman Emperor Jarrett Tenebe, APC’s State Secretary Lawrence Okah, former Sen. Matthew Urhoghide, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (Retd), former Commissioner of Education and House of Representatives hopeful, Dr Paddy Iyamu, Charity Aimanyanvbo and Felix Osazee Igbinovia.
Speaking for the delegation, Dr Odubu explained that the visit was to formally acquaint the Oba with the outcome of the primary and seek his fatherly blessings for Ogbeide-Ihama, whom he said scored the highest votes at the primary, and was issued a “result sheet” by the electoral officer, Mohammed Ajana.
Presenting the “result sheet” issued to him, Ogbeide-Ihama, describing Oba Ewuare II as “a father figure whose blessings will be invaluable to my political journey,” maintained that the primary was conducted “in line with the constitution, guidelines and procedures of the APC,” and that party members “freely exercised their franchise” during the voting.
Later, Ogbeide-Ihama noted: “Today, the party leadership at the state level formally presented me to my father, our father, His Royal Majesty. It also provided me the opportunity to show him the result as declared by the committee sent by the National Headquarters to conduct the primary. What we await now is the same process being awaited by aspirants across the 109 senatorial districts of the country, which is usually concluded at the National Headquarters of the party.”
The question: In light of the unsettled issue of “winner” of the primary, why did the APC leaders present Ogbeide-Ihama to and solicit blessings for him from Oba Ewuare II? Couldn’t they wait for the Certificate of Return to be issued to the “candidate” before the palace visit? Was the intent to foist a fait accompli on the calculative, measured, persecptive and revered King not given to face value, but fact and unimpeachable evidence?
Any wonder the Omo N’Oba, after the visitors had relayed their mission, applied the “Solomonic wisdom,” and jokingly asked if the primary “result sheet” was generated by “Artificial Intelligence (AI)”? To which the APC chair, Tenebe, and Mr Imasuen answered in the negative, “affirming the authenticity of the document!”
Though the Oba’s query reportedly “drew laughter from palace chiefs and members of the APC delegation,” the import cuts both ways in the stand-off over the primary in Edo South, as Ogbeide-Ihama, backed by APC’s leadership in Edo, displayed the “result sheet” issued to him by the primary elections committee.
Where in the mix are Pastor Ize-Iyamu and Sen. Imasuen, who claim to’ve won the primary with higher figures than Ogbeide-Ihama’s? It’ll be apt for them to make the Royal Palace visit and present themselves and their “result sheets” to Oba Ewuare II for perusal and blessings as well!
Going by a Naija lingo, the Omo N’Oba “wants to see something” because – like one of the two women that appeared before King Solomon and falsely claimed motherhood of a baby that wasn’t hers – two among Ogbeide-Ihama, Ize-Iyamu and Imasuen have lied about winning the May 18, 2026, primary for Edo South!
Nonetheless, the Oba, who subsequently prayed for Ogbeide-Ihama and asked palace chiefs to remember him in their prayers, thanked the visitors for the courtesy call, and urged “politicians and their supporters to conduct their activities peacefully,” as violence shouldn’t have a place in Edo political landscape.
He appealed to aggrieved APC members to “embrace reconciliation and work together for the progress of Edo South and Edo State,” noting that peace and unity remain indispensable for development, and that “there is a time for everything,” as “God’s time remains the best,” and “political actors should be patient and trust in divine providence.”
Truth be told: Three weeks after the May 16 to May 21, 2026, APC’s National and State Houses of Assembly primaries, the Edo South aspirants, and many others across Nigeria, aren’t sure of their fates, which look sealed by the party directive that results could only be declared by the national headquarters in Abuja.
As the aggrieved aspirants rued their “suspended” fortunes, an appeal by the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, that the party won’t ignore grievances arising from the primaries in some states, didn’t assuage the feelings of the complainants.
Because the APC leaders didn’t apply the “Solomonic wisdom” to handle the primaries, and their immediate fallouts, the political dirk has opened, prompting “exodus” of the “primary losers” from the APC in several states, as predicted by oppostion African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The heat is on the ruling APC to arrest the stream of defections from its platform by collating the “authentic results” from its primaries, declare returns therefrom, and issue Certificates of Returns to the winners, accordingly!
To quote the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, “Only candidates who duly won elections should be issued with Certificates of Returns.” The APC should adopt and uphold this standard!
• Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos. He can be reached on X, Threads, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp @EhichioyaEzomon. Tel: 08033078357.
