All Progressives Congress (APC) has started backstage pressure on Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State to return to the party.
Obaseki who has been at loggerheads with the sacked National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, demystified the ex-labour leader with the outcome of the Edo governorship poll of Saturday.
Apparently frustrated by Oshiomhole, Obaseki defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and won his re-election on the platform of the PDP.
APC chieftain, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who is blaming Oshiomhole for the failure of the party in the Edo governorship poll, says he was shocked that their ex-national chairman extended his bad luck to the Edo poll.
Some concerned APC players, according to him, want Obaseki to ignore Oshiomhole and return to what he described as ‘’his natural habitat in APC’’.
While commending the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies for allowing a peaceful conduct of the election, he congratulated the Edo people for their victory.
According to Eze, ‘’the outcome of the governorship election in Edo which took place last Saturday, has sparked reactions as it continues to dominate national discuss. Citizens, diplomats, observers, stakeholders, political analysts and groups have ceaselessly made their minds bare on the exercise which has generally been adjudged as relatively peaceful and pretty fair, given the standard and indices of a reasonable contest in a representative democracy.
‘’More catchy in the process is the return of Obaseki, the standard-bearer of the PDP, as governor for a second term, his last-minute alliance with the umbrella party notwithstanding. The unpleasant carriage and incoherent disposition of the ousted Oshiomhole, singly caused the party the election.
‘’It is heart-rending to learn that Edo has been added to the league of states like Zamafara, Rivers, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Sokoto, Adamawa, and Oyo where sheer administrative incompetence and gross leadership malady occasioned by the self-styled and kooky steering model of Oshiomhole scuttled the electoral chances of APC and deprived the majority from having their way.’’
Continuing, he said with the development in Edo, ‘’it is only fair to settle that Oshiomhole’s membership of the APC is a curse which has brought brutal misfortune and severe affliction on the party. The gains and achievements recorded by the party under the sterling leadership of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as National Chairman have been swept away by the dangerous flood of unending catastrophe which has overwhelmed the party as a result of Oshiomhole’s disastrous and poor approach to leadership and party politics.
‘’The former labour leader must formally apologise to President Mohammadu Buhari and members of APC for the serial embarrassments and heavy damages occasioned by his hinky, and very quirky carriage.’’
While congratulating Obaseki and commending the good people of Edo for striving to extinguish godfatherism in their domain, the APC chief appealed to Obaseki to find a place in his heart to forgive Oshiomhole and all those who helped him to cause havoc in the party.
On Governor Obaseki return to APC, Eze said some of them concerned party members are tasking him to begin the process of taking back his position in the progressives family which he described as his natural habitat considering his numerous sacrifices and contributions in the formation of the party, assuring that his place in the APC is still very much reserved and intact.
For the defeated APC governorship candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to prevail on Oshiomhole to offset all his electoral expenses, since ‘’it was his damaging campaign against him as well as his poor leadership mannerisms that caused him and the APC the election’’.
He called on Nigerians to commend President Buhari for allowing a transparent process, describing him as a true statesman and democrat. ‘’With this record, President Buhari has equalled the democratic feat of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who allowed the votes of Edo people to count in 2012 when Oshiomhole was re-elected as governor against all odds’’, Eze says.
With a total of 307, 955 votes, Obaseki was able to prevent Oshiomhole’s candidate, Ize-Iyamu, in the governorship poll. APC scored 223,619 votes.
