.Obaseki counters claim
WHAT started as a united family is in tatters and there are fears that the political family with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as father may never be one again.
This is evident in the attack on Governor Godwin Obaseki and Oba Rilwan Akinolu of Lagos by suspected thugs during their visit to the house of Oshiomhole in Iyamho after the convocation of the university in the home town of the party leader penultimate Saturday.
There have been claims and counter claims after the attack. Obaseki and state government officials said the attack was masterminded by Oshiomhole’s loyalists while the party leader alleged that Deputy Governor Phillips Shaibu started it all when he allegedly brought people suspected to be thugs into the university town ahead of the convocation.
Obaseki, his deputy, Shaibu, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, and Chief of Staff, Taiwo Akerele, on one side in the feud against the APC National Chairman, were all part of Oshiomhole’s eight years as governor of Edo. Charles Idahosa, who was Political Adviser to Oshiomhole for eight years, is also on the side of Obaseki. Recall that Idahosa was the first to raise issues against Obaseki when Oshiomhole mooted the idea of the APC fielding him as his successor in 2016 and even stopped from participating in the activities of the party but was convinced to come back by Oshiomhole. It is no longer news that Oshiomhole and Obaseki have irreparably fallen apart. Their once robust relationship had been displayed in 2015 when Obaseki was Oshiomhole’s best man during his (Oshiomhole) marriage to Iara after the death of his first wife Clara. The first sign of crack in the political family showed when there was no unanimity on how Edo APC primaries ahead of the 2019 elections would be conducted. While the governor wanted consensus arrangement which, according to him, was less expensive, Oshiomhole wanted direct primary election which, he said, was more democratic and would turn out candidates that could actually win elections. Oshiomhole had his way but since then the centre could no longer hold. Observers believe that another source of problem between them is the conflicting philosophies and styles of administration of the two. While Oshiomhole, as governor, brought a populist government where the provision of facilities and welfare of the people were his priorities, Obaseki has introduced an elitist government with business orientation where there must be value for every kobo spent. The crisis got to an alarming point recently when suspected thugs invaded the residence of Oshiomhole in Okorotun GRA in Benin-City chanting war songs. Meanwhile Obaseki has continued to take decisions that inflame the situation including the ban on the meeting of Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), a pressure group within APC clamouring for his replacement, during a parley of the party. The meeting was followed by local government leaders meeting where the directive was further handed down to party leaders at the two levels. Edo APC Chairman, Anselm Ojezua, said the party would not fail to suspend those he described as forming parallel groups within the party as he insisted that the party remained united.
WHAT started as a united family is in tatters and there are fears that the political family with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as father may never be one again.
This is evident in the attack on Governor Godwin Obaseki and Oba Rilwan Akinolu of Lagos by suspected thugs during their visit to the house of Oshiomhole in Iyamho after the convocation of the university in the home town of the party leader penultimate Saturday.
There have been claims and counter claims after the attack. Obaseki and state government officials said the attack was masterminded by Oshiomhole’s loyalists while the party leader alleged that Deputy Governor Phillips Shaibu started it all when he allegedly brought people suspected to be thugs into the university town ahead of the convocation.
Obaseki, his deputy, Shaibu, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, and Chief of Staff, Taiwo Akerele, on one side in the feud against the APC National Chairman, were all part of Oshiomhole’s eight years as governor of Edo. Charles Idahosa, who was Political Adviser to Oshiomhole for eight years, is also on the side of Obaseki. Recall that Idahosa was the first to raise issues against Obaseki when Oshiomhole mooted the idea of the APC fielding him as his successor in 2016 and even stopped from participating in the activities of the party but was convinced to come back by Oshiomhole. It is no longer news that Oshiomhole and Obaseki have irreparably fallen apart. Their once robust relationship had been displayed in 2015 when Obaseki was Oshiomhole’s best man during his (Oshiomhole) marriage to Iara after the death of his first wife Clara. The first sign of crack in the political family showed when there was no unanimity on how Edo APC primaries ahead of the 2019 elections would be conducted. While the governor wanted consensus arrangement which, according to him, was less expensive, Oshiomhole wanted direct primary election which, he said, was more democratic and would turn out candidates that could actually win elections. Oshiomhole had his way but since then the centre could no longer hold. Observers believe that another source of problem between them is the conflicting philosophies and styles of administration of the two. While Oshiomhole, as governor, brought a populist government where the provision of facilities and welfare of the people were his priorities, Obaseki has introduced an elitist government with business orientation where there must be value for every kobo spent. The crisis got to an alarming point recently when suspected thugs invaded the residence of Oshiomhole in Okorotun GRA in Benin-City chanting war songs. Meanwhile Obaseki has continued to take decisions that inflame the situation including the ban on the meeting of Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), a pressure group within APC clamouring for his replacement, during a parley of the party. The meeting was followed by local government leaders meeting where the directive was further handed down to party leaders at the two levels. Edo APC Chairman, Anselm Ojezua, said the party would not fail to suspend those he described as forming parallel groups within the party as he insisted that the party remained united.
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