The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki yesterday, May 3, 2020, submitted his completed nomination and Expression of Interest Forms at the headquarters of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Abuja.
The submission laid to rest the speculation that Mr. Obaseki was set to dump the ruling party for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
Mr. Obaseki used the occasion to strike his predecessor, Mr. Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole again, just as he warned him to stay away from the arrangement for the APC primaries in Edo State.
Governor Obaseki retorted that the APC National Chairman was a “bigger betrayal”.
The National Organising Secretary, Barrister Emma Ibidiro received the nomination forms from Obaseki and five other aspirants on behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Obaseki said, “I call on Comrade Oshiomhole to recluse 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 recluse himself and lets have a free process and lets reconcile and build our party.
“On a final note, I am actively pursuing peace, actively pursuing harmony in our party, particularly at home and I believe that there will be peace.”
On the inference that he had betrayed Oshiomhole, the governor denied doing that and explained that the National Chairman was “a bigger betrayer.”
“In life everybody get helped, everybody get assisted. The person you talked about (Oshiomhole) had no money when he left Labour to contest. We knew what we did to make him Governor.
“I sacrificed eight years of my life to serve Edo State Probono, I collected no Kobo to serve him (Oshiomhole) in Edo.”
Obaseki debunked reports linking him to the opposition PDP.
“It is very absurd. I am someone that is very exposed. How can I collect form from two parties when we have rulings in past disqualifying people on that.
“I am a party man to the core. APC is my party because I come from a progressive political family. I believe in the ideals of APC.
“I believe in our President, I believe in what he stands for so I am a party man to the core. I am not an old styed politician.
“I represent a new direction of politics that is based on facts and truth not lies”. Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki concluded.