Ahead of the Edo State gubernatorial primaries, Governor Godwin Obaseki, on Thursday, said he would support whoever the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chooses as its candidate.
Obaseki stated this while fielding questions from journalists, after a stakeholders’ meeting at the party’s secretariat, in Abuja.
The stakeholders meeting which was attended by both the governor and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, also had one of the gubernatorial aspirants, Asue Ighodalo and other notable politicians from the state.
Obaseki, who insisted that the state PDP has no crisis, also said the government would not put any stumbling block on the way of his deputy, who is also contesting the election
“There is no issue between me and my deputy and he is here. He wants to contest and we are not asking him to drop his ambition. He is a freeborn of Edo State and he can contest.
Responding to questions on whether he would back his deputy for the job, Obaseki stated “I will support whoever the party supports.”
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Also speaking with journalists after the meeting, Ighodalo, described the meeting as a successful family meeting
According to him, “We had a very fruitful family meeting, a fantastic family meeting”
In his message to Edo PDP members, Ighodalo called for unity and for the people to continue to live in love.
“The PDP is set to win the next election in the state by the grace of God Almighty. The leadership of the party, all spoke well and they spoke in line of unity for the party. We are all very happy coming out of that meeting.
He assured that the people of Edo would continue to enjoy “great governance for our state, continuous good governance, a unified and strong party in the state.”
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Ighodalo, who also spoke on his chances, said, “That is in God Almighty’s hands, adding that “What we are most concerned about now is the unity of the party. I don’t think that anybody is directly thinking about that issue now. It is fundamental that the party stays united and that the party stays strong. That is what we are all focusing on, that is what everybody attending the meeting is focusing on”
Ilya Damagum the party’s acting national chairman, while speaking after the meeting of Edo stakeholders, said the party has agreed to work together to retain the state.
“We have agreed to work together as one family and we will go further to break the meeting into smaller committees so that at the end of the day, we will come out with a better solution. But in conclusion, Edo now is one family.
Asked if the party had resolved the issues between the governor and his deputy, Damagun dismissed reports of issues between the two.
