Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state who is engulfed in a battle with his predecessor and party chairman Adams Oshiomhole should be heading to the rival Peoples Democratic Party as he seeks a platform to content the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.
The PDP won the last presidential election in Edo state and Obaseki’s supporters now say he will win the gubernatorial election as candidate of the party following Saturday’s well-choreographed disqualification he suffered at the hands of the APC’s so called screening committee.
The leader of one of Obaseki’s support groups told a reporter that given that “the APC has not found wanting in the discharge of the job for which he was elected and has not been accused of mismanaging the funds of the state, we are asking him to go to the PDP to actualise his ambition for a second term because the people of Edo state want him to continue as their governor.”
A large number of APC state governors have coverged in Abuja since Thursday for consultations with President Muhammadu Buhari’s senior aides including the chief of staff about the crisis that is now engulfing the ruling party. It is unclear if they will be meeting the president himself.
Oshiomhole has had a running battle with his successor and many now believe he has been using his hold on the party at the national level to advance his fight with Obaseki.
Chairman of Edo’s Governorship primaries Screening Committee appointed by Oshiomhole, Jonathan announced Obaseki’s disqualification late Friday at APC National Secretariat Abuja while presenting report of the screening exercise to the party’s National Chairman.
He also said Chris Ogiemwonyi and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen have been disqualified paving the way for Oshiomhole’s anointed successor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, as well as Pius Odubu, and Osaro Obazee who have been cleared to run for the primaries.
As anticipated, Obaseki after his screening Wednesday night said, he was not sure of getting justice under Oshiomhole whom he described as an interested party in the Edo Governorship primaries.
“Like I said, as a party man I have been through the screening process but I do not believe that I will get justice because Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is an interested party in the Edo process”, the Edo Governor lamented.
Obaseki said he was accused of anti-party activities for signing a gazette that will prevent the party from conducting direct primaries in Edo State.
“One of the questions that was asked was that why did I issue a gazette that will prevent the party from performing direct elections in Edo. That did I not see it as an anti party activity? I just felt that if we put politics above the the lives of the people of Edo State, the we may be missing the point”, he noted.
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