The Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has flayed deliberate attempts by the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to continuously cause crisis in the party so as to whittle its chances in the forthcoming governorship election.
Publicity Secretary of the party, Pastor Joseph Osagiede, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, called on the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Presidency to rein in Oshiomhole and stop him from gifting Edo to the opposition, like he did in Zamfara, Rivers and Bayelsa, among other states.
Osagiede, who described Governor Godwin Obaseki as the best man for the job on account of his massive infrastructural and developmental strides in the state, said the governor has performed beyond the expectations of his predecessor and the entirety of Edo people and would be re-elected.
He said, “If Oshiomhole himself doesn’t think Governor Obaseki will win, he won’t be fighting this much. He knows that Governor Obaseki has won the heart of over 99 percent of Edolites; Oshiomhole knows that Obaseki has worked even beyond his own imagination and beyond the expectations of Edo people. He knows that the man can’t be accused of corruption, negligence, or being parochial and sectional in his developmental strides. He knows Obaseki is not tribalistic or nepotistic. Oshiomhole knows that the incumbent governor is upright and articulate”
The Publicity Secretary described as sheer madness, the alleged relocation of the Edo APC Secretariat in Benin City by the National Chairman, noting that he has no locus standi to do so.
The party said, “So you can see that it is a deliberate plot to create anarchy and confusion in the state and make the authorities consider calling for a state of emergency in Edo. That’s his game plan. In fact, that is anti-party activity for which the National Executive Committee should meet and expel him from the party.”
“Let me reiterate that we have not indicated any intention to relocate our Secretariat. Our Secretariat remains at No. 59, Airport Road, Benin City. Our party chairman remains intact, Governor Godwin Obaseki remains the leader of the party in the state and the State Executive Committee remains intact. Really, we don’t know what he is fighting for if not his selfish interest”, he added.
Explaining the party’s choice of indirect over the direct mode of primary in the state, Osagiede noted, “We are very mindful of the health and wellbeing of our people knowing that the office of ‘the governor’ is not worth the blood of any Edolite and as a party, we have been very worried about the community spread of the coronavirus (COVID -19).
“The plan, with the support of the state government, is to bring the party’s statutory delegates to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, run temperature tests for all delegates, and allow them cast their ballot while ensuring strict compliance with the compulsory use of facemasks and other precautionary measures, including social distancing, hand washing and the use of sanitizers, under very hygienic conditions, after which there will be proper fumigation/sanitization of the facility. But because some insensitive and irrational politicians in the state know that this mode of election doesn’t give room for rigging, falsification, and manipulation, they are kicking against it.”
