- Says: I am satisfied with the process
- PDP women, youths kick
Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has sensationally disclosed that he still enjoys the support and sympathy of governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) despite dumping the party for the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
He made the disclosure at the National Secretariat of the PDP, shortly after being screened for the June 25 governorship primary election of the party.
Answering a question, the governor said his support base cuts across party lines.
According to him, even dignitaries and other well-meaning Nigerians have come to identify with his aspiration, adding “they are all united against injustice”.
Done with the process administered by his new party, Obaseki said:
“The screening was fair and professionally done. You could see objectivity and I presented all my certificates – my secondary school, higher school, university, and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates so that they could look at them and see if there are inconsistencies in them. You can ask the screening committee if there are any inconsistencies in any of them.
“I thank God that I enjoy national support not just from my colleagues from the APC. I think the support is national. There are elder statesmen who are apolitical; there are traditional rulers. I have people from different spectrum of the society who come around to support. Generally, I think Nigerians are fair-minded people. There are people who do not accept injustice. From what I have seen over the past several weeks and months, the support is just across board. It is not just from APC governors alone.
“I am not a dividing candidate. I am speaking with all the aspirants. My hope and purpose for the PDP is to have a united and very strong party.
“Party primaries should not be divisive because we as a party are focused on the same objective and because we are separate individuals, our approaches may be different. Therefore, party primaries, in my view, should not be acrimonious and destructive. And there are common grounds, common interests and I am very hopeful that I will get it even as there are quite a number of delegates for the exercise.”
Other aspirants that had been cleared for Thursday’s governorship primaries are Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Engr. Gideon Ikhine, and Mr. Kenneth Imansuangbon.
The APC screening panel had last Friday disqualified the governor from June 22 governorship primaries in Edo State over alleged discrepancies in his university and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates.
The development forced Obaseki to leave the APC for PDP on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Youth and Women wing of the PDP, Edo chapter, have opposed the waiver granted Obaseki by the party’s national leadership.
The waiver paved the way for Obaseki face the screening panel Saturday preparatory to seeking the party’s ticket at the June 25 primary election.
Under the auspices of PDP Youths for Justice, a statement by the coordinator, Musa Kadiri, warned the party leadership to reward loyalty instead of looking for opportunities.
He noted that the three aspirants – Ken Imasuagbon, Gideon Ikhine and Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama – are capable of defeating any candidate that the APC would present.
NAN quoted Kadiri as warning that the PDP might witness implosion if Obaseki is given the ticket on a platter of gold.
“We the youths on ground in Edo know that the PDP has positioned itself to win the forthcoming gubernatorial election. We do not need Obaseki who was chased out of the APC based on questionable credentials,” he said.
Also, PDP women wing in Egor Local Government Area led by Mrs. Imuwahen Osasu, said the Edo PDP does not need Obaseki.
She said the election provides another opportunity to reward those that have been loyal to the party for over 12 years that the party has been out of power in the State.