By Hamilton Nwosa(Head, The New Diplomat’s Business and data tracking desk)
More light has been shed on why Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki was disqualified from getting the nod of his former party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to run for a second term on their platform.
According to the displaced National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the primary ground of disqualification were taken from the suit filed by Obaseki’s new party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in 2016, wherein they had provided documents, which nailed the governor.
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According to Oshiomhole, the APC screening committee has only relied on the documents to disqualify Obaseki from the party’s primary in 2020.
Addressing supporters at his residence in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), near Government House, Benin, Oshiomhole further revealed that the PDP’s suit in 2016 against Obaseki, then of APC, was struck out because it was filed out of time.
The former Edo State Governor and ex-President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who did not give any reasons why the APC did not subsequently move against Obaseki, went on to say that APC leaders had learnt from the mistake in Bayelsa State and decided to stick to the rules.
He said: “In 2016, PDP took Obaseki to court that he forged certificates. Now, you remember one governor that said there are tax collectors, when something moved, they collected the taxes and the certificates became okay.
“But let me tell you, members of APC’s screening committee knew that the man who forged documents, even if you vote for him, you know what happened to us in Bayelsa State.
‘’So, I need to assure you that the decision of the screening committee members to disqualify the sitting governor was based on the evidence provided by PDP leaders in 2016, which they found to be correct and you do not repeat the same mistake twice.
“The only task we have is to go to every unit, every community, every ward, every local government area and remind them of where we stopped and ask them since we left, what new thing has been brought?
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“If I failed Godwin Obaseki’s examination, by the grace of God on Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, I will score A1.
‘’It is not unusual to misread people but it will be unusual after misreading them, you continue on that dangerous part.
‘’ We have a duty to correct it. I assure you that there are no personal issues whatsoever.
“I hear some people say Oshiomhole has lost his seat as the National Chairman of APC and I asked ‘is it my father’s job?’”
A governor is expected to emerge after the governorship polls in Edo State from November 12 and the prime contestants at the moment are Obaseki of the PDP and Ize-Iyamu of the APC. Incidentally, the two gladiators were equally the prime contenders in the 2016 polls.
While the APC has come tops in three of the five governorship contests conducted in the state since the return to democracy in 1999, the opposition PDP has emerged winners of the governorship elections in the state on the other two occasions. However, Obaseki, who won on the platform of the APC in 2016, has presently moved over to the PDP side from where he is prosecuting the current contest.
