The All Progressive Congress (APC) elders in Edo state have on Thursday accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of falsely accusing its National party chairman, Adams Oshiomhole to have participated in the mock primaries that were held in Benin, the state capital, and have vowed to remove him from office.
The APC caucus has also chid Obaseki of being a serial lair for blaming Oshiomhole for the surge of COVID-19 in the state following the conduct of the said primary election.
The party stalwarts in their joint statement explained, “Rather than blame others for the problems facing the state including his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Obaseki should point out what his administration did with the N350 billion, revenue that accrued to the state treasury during his stay in office”.
Accordingly, they distanced Oshiomhole from the hoax primary election that was conducted in the state, in a statement issued by the gubernatorial aspirant, saying just as debunked claims by Obaseki government accusing the primaries of jeopardising the effort put in place to arrest the spread of the coronavirus by gathering in mass.
The group claimed, “We vehemently deny any involvement of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in our activities.
We also state emphatically that there was no crowded meeting of 20 persons or more by this body of APC leaders anywhere in Edo State in recent times.
“We hereby challenge Governor Godwin Obaseki to prove his allegation of a crowded meeting of more than 50 persons by releasing a video of such an event.
They accused Obaseki government of blackmailing Oshiomhole through dragging him into frivolities that only existed in his imagination, saying it is disrespectful to the personality of the National Party Chairman who his legacies he left in the state has remained a selling point for the party.
The statement which partly reads;
“Contrary to the resort to personalized attacks by Gov. Obaseki on the APC national chairman, who is not contesting any election, we are confronting Obaseki with evidence of bad governance, embezzlement of state funds, destruction of democratic culture, wicked demonization of those on whose backs he rose to power and systematic destruction of APC that brought him to power.
“As in April 2020, Edo State under Obaseki has netted about N350 billion from the federation account, internally generated revenue, bailout funds, Paris Club refund enhanced by the exchange rate.
“There is not a single project worthy of commissioning as Obaseki moves towards the end of his tenure.
“Even in the current fight against COVID-19, he does not care about the sufferings of the people but is busy converting the opportunity for embezzlement, embarking on political campaigns under the guise of sensitization campaigns against the coronavirus.
“Till today, there is no lockdown in Edo State in order to avoid spending on palliatives.
Yet, he moved markets to school premises in the entire state with a promise to fumigate the markets state-wide.
“No fumigation has been carried out and the school premises are fast becoming refuse dumps.
Huge crowds are crammed into whatever space in the schools without social distancing.
“He ordered people to wear face-masks but his government did not provide any for the poor masses.
The number of infected people is growing exponentially, he doesn’t care”.
Meanwhile, the statement was jointly signed by the following Edo leaders; Engr Chris Ogiemwonyi, Former Minister of State for Works, H.E Dr Pius Odubu, Former Deputy Governor, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere Rtd, Former Governorship Candidate, Pastor Osagie-
Ize-Iyamu, Former SSG, and Former Governorship Candidate, Hon. Saturday U. Idehen, Former NDDC Commissioner, H.E Rev. Peter Obadan, Former Deputy Governor, H.E Lucky Imasuen, Former Deputy Governor, Sen. Francis Alimikhena, Immediate Past-
Deputy Chief Whip, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Peter Akpatason, Deputy Leader, Rt. Hon. Johnson Oghuma amongst others.
