The Ides of May: Edo South APC Senatorial Primary—To Be, or Betrayed?

By ABURE, Pedro Anetor

History has a cruel habit of repeating itself-not always in blood, but often in betrayal; not always with daggers, but sometimes with whispered alliances, sealed rooms, calculated endorsements, and *the cold ambition of men who mistake power for destiny.* 

When William Shakespeare penned _Julius Caesar,_ he was not merely writing of Julius Caesar. *He was writing of politics itself-of loyalty tested, of friendship auctioned, of ambition clothed in noble language, and of republics wounded not by enemies at the gate, but by familiar faces seated at the table.* 

And so, *as Edo South approaches the senatorial primary of Monday, the 18th of May, 2026,* one cannot help but hear across the corridors of power the haunting echo:

“Beware the Ides…”

Not the Ides of March.

But the Ides of May.

For in Rome, it was Cassius, Casca, and above all Marcus Junius Brutus who drew close to Caesar-not to honour him, *but to measure where best the blade might enter.* *The deadliest conspiracies are never born in opposition; they are conceived in proximity.* 

And now, political watchers in Edo whisper of another gathering, another Monday, another test of loyalty.

 *How strange-how deeply symbolic-that this defining contest falls on Monday, and that the steward of power in this hour bears the same name: Monday Okpebholo.* 

History does not repeat itself in exact language-but it often rhymes in names.

Will Monday become merely a day on the calendar?

Or will it become a character in a web of conspiracy?

 *That is the question now confronting the conscience of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State.* 

For if the senatorial primary is conducted in the spirit of justice, transparency, and honour, then the party shall emerge stronger, purified by competition, united by legitimacy, and fortified by the will of its people.

 *But if unseen hands attempt to script the outcome before the first vote is cast-if ambition seeks to crown itself while democracy is gagged-then the consequences may not be immediate, but they will be profound.* 

For parties do not collapse in public.

They decay in private.

They fracture in silence.

They bleed through wounded loyalty.

 *And when loyal men begin to ask whether sacrifice still matters, whether service still counts, whether merit still breathes-then the foundations begin to tremble.* 

The warning signs have already appeared.

 *The memory is still fresh-when the purported endorsement of Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama was met not with applause, but with a thunderous resistance; when the air itself seemed to reject imposition, and from the crowd rose a chorus impossible to ignore:* 

“No! No!”

It was not merely a protest.

It was prophecy.

 *For the people of Edo South may be patient, but they are not powerless. They may be respectful, but they are not blind. And when their voice is ignored, history teaches that silence eventually becomes resistance.* 

 *Among the names that continue to command grassroots affection, loyalty, and political memory stands Osagie Ize-Iyamu—a man whose political journey has become intertwined with the aspirations of many across Edo.* 

And so, as Monday approaches, one question hangs like thunder over the political skies of Edo:

Will this be a primary…

Or a prophecy?

Will this be democracy…

 *O

r another Senate of daggers?

The answer, perhaps, will determine not merely who flies the party’s flag-

 But whether the flag itself continues to fly.