By Abiola Olawale
The last might not have been heard about the crisis rocking the Edo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as one of the strong aspirants in the party’s governorship primary election, Prof Oserheimen Osunbor, on Friday, placed his teeming supporters on alert.
Osunbor, who fell short of clinching the Edo APC governorship ticket, called on his supporters to remain steadfast as he is in discussion on the next move.
The New Diplomat reports that Osunbor, a foremost aspirant in the recently concluded governorship primary election in Edo lost out to Senator Monday Okpebholo who polled 12,433 votes to emerge as the official flagbearer of APC. Okpebholo has subsequently received his Certificate of Return.
Reacting to the development in a message of solidarity to his supporters, Osunbor said it is disappointing that the leadership of the party are comfortable with the exercise that produced Okpebholo despite the contoverises that emerged for the contest.
While appealing to his supporters to remain calm, Osunbor said he is consulting widely to know his next line of action.
The statement reads, “The events connected with the process, conduct and outcome of the APC governorship primary election in Edo State in the past fortnight or so have, no doubt, left many of you bewildered, disappointed and confused. As you are aware, I issued statements to express my personal displeasure about what we saw which fell very much below our expectations. Many of you have reached out to me to seek direction as to our next line of action.
“It is now clear that the National Working Committee of our party that conducted the primaries is satisfied with the outcome and has issued a Certificate of Return to Senator Monday Okpebholo as the party candidate. This is already public knowledge.
“The Senator has paid me a visit to solicit my support and those of my teeming followers. That initial visit, it was agreed, will be followed soon by more detailed discussions. Be rest assured that you will be carried along as the talks progress. The outcome of the discussions will influence our collective decision and next line of action.
“Let me use this opportunity, once again, to thank you all for your forbearance, steadfastness and unwavering support through the months and years that we worked together to bring about the Rebirth of EDO FOR EXCELLENCE. May God richly bless you for your sacrifices.”
