Adams Oshiomhole, the immediate past National Chairman of ruling All Progressives Congress, declared over the weekend that he returned to Edo State with the singular mission to get Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the party’s candidate elected.
Achieving that mission, he said, would correct the mistake he made four years ago when he supported Godwin Obaseki, to succeed him as Edo governor.
Both men have parted ways. Obaseki dumped APC after the party schemed him out during the screening of governorship candidates. He is now the gubernatorial candidate of opposition People’s Democratic Party.
Speaking to a large crowd of his supporters that welcomed him from Abuja at the weekend in his home at Iyamho, near Auchi in Etsako West Local Government, Oshiomhole described Obaseki as “the snake”.
“I am back and ready for the job. The snake that entered our family home, God has driven the snake to where he belongs. I have come home to join you and start the process of reclaiming the house to the family of APC,” the former labour leader said.
Oshiomhole apologized to Edo voters for supporting Obaseki as his successor in 2016. “I made a mistake by supporting a man (Obaseki), who has no vision for my people.
“So, I want to correct my mistakes by making sure a servant of God, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, is elected as governor on September 19 and to kick the snake out of Government House, Benin. From now till September 19, I am here in Edo State, because a political lion that I am, I am not scared of anything,” the former governor said.
He accused Obaseki of being a non-performing governor, claiming that “there has been no tangible development since we left government, all they have to show for almost four years are MOUs and earmark projects while we had eye marks projects,”.
“We shall bring back the era of the red roof. We want to bring back roads with drainage. We want to bring back those lofty days when we engaged our youths and we mixed with the elders. We want to return to the government of the people, by the people and for the people,” he declared.
“I have come home for only one project, I am not going back to Abuja until the project is completed.
“I came back home not to rest, but to work. We are political lions, we must commit ourselves to return Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to Osadebe Avenue.”
“The man (Ize-Iyamu) that is coming is not a stranger. He campaigned for me in 2012 and I won in the 18 local governments. He knows the roots, unlike the current governor who just became governor and does not know the efforts people made to make him governor. We will kick out the MoU governor and replace him with a pastor who will sweep out the Coronavirus party (PDP), by the grace of God,” Oshiomhole declared.
In the run-up to the 2016 election when Ize-Iyamu was PDP’s governorship candidate in the state, Oshiomhole had made some uncharitable comments about him.
Recanting those things, Oshiomhole said that the negative comments he made about Ize-Iyamu were part of politics.
Oshiomhole only disappointed because Obaseki refused to be used in his quest to become Edo’s godfather – Osagie
However, Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, has said the sacked former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is only disappointed because Governor Godwin Obaseki refused to be used in his quest to become a godfather in the state.
In a statement, the governor’s aide said the recent vituperation of the sacked former National Chairman is just an expression of his frustration over his failure to achieve his goal to govern Edo State for a third term using Governor Obaseki as a proxy.
According to him, “In 2016 when Oshiomhole nominated and supported Obaseki, his hidden motive was to use Governor Obaseki who he thought would be a pawn in his game to defraud Edo people and enthrone himself as the ultimate godfather of Edo politics at the expense of the will and wishes of Edo people.
“However, Obaseki’s refusal to mortgage the interest of the majority of Edo people for the satisfaction of the avarice of Oshiomhole and his handful of greedy followers is the cause of Oshiomhole’s bitterness which has led him to bury himself in pursuit of an innocent governor who is trying to do the right thing for his people.”
“If Oshiomhole had made any mistake in supporting Obaseki in 2016, it is to the extent that he thought that the Governor will submit himself as a tool to be used to hold the collective will and best interest of all Edo people hostage and for this Obaseki owes Oshiomhole no apologies because the interest of Edo people is and will always be greater than the interest of one man”, Osagie added.
