Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has asked the National Chairman of his ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to steer clear of all the processes leading up to the June 22 governorship primary election of the APC in the state “because he is an interested party”. This came as he denied secretly obtaining the nomination and expression of interest forms of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP following his face-off with Comrade Oshiomhole.
Speaking on Wednesday when he returned his forms to the APC National Organising Secretary, Emma Ibediro, the governor also dismissed claims that he betrayed his benefactor, saying apart from making sacrifices for his sake, the party’s national chairman was the one who betrayed the cause.
The governor asked the National Chairman to recuse himself from the activities leading up to the primary election in Edo state, saying he is an interested party and cannot sit in judgment over his own case. “However, I am using this opportunity to call on Comrade Oshiomhole to recuse himself from the Edo nomination process because he is an interested party. It is against natural justice for a man to be a judge in his own case. So I think the honourable thing to do is to recuse himself and let us have a free process and let us reconcile and build our party”.
Obaseki also spoke on why he is desirous of ruling the state for a second term, saying four years is not enough for him to crystallize his reforms. He said; “Three years is not enough, four years is not enough to crystalize all these reforms. So, another four years will give me that opportunity to consolidate on what we have done and that is the promise of APC. We are a reformist party, we are a progressive party. That is why I am here today to indicate my interest and my desire to run for another term as governor of Edo so that I can continue in the service of my people”.
I will win whether direct or indirect primary On the mode of primary, the governor said he would pick the party’s ticket irrespective of the method adopted in electing its candidate, but added that the party’s constitution must be obeyed with respect to the voting method. “The basis of any democracy are rules; that is why the most important document in our party is our constitution. Our constitution is very detailed and it spells out clearly how we should undertake our affairs as a party.
Alexanders' Blog 