Following the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and APC governors under the aegis of Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), the reconciliation of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo and Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of APC, has begun.
Sources said that at the different meetings held to broker peace between Obaseki and Oshiomhole, part of the reconciliation process was to reconcile members-elect in the Edo State House of Assembly who have been in Abuja since inauguration of the Assembly and those who have been inaugurated. Those members-elect, who are yet to be inaugurated, are loyalists of Oshiomhole.
To this end, Obaseki has named the chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong; governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Senator Ehigie Uzamere to reconcile members-elect in the Edo State House of Assembly.
In a statement, the governor said the constitution of the reconciliation committee is part of moves to restore harmony and peace in the state chapter of APC and the state at large.
The governor insisted that he is committed to peace and that a united front would make the party stronger, more cohesive and help to foster more development in the state.
He added that the committee, which commences work with immediate effect, would reach out to all parties in the dispute and ensure that all grey areas are addressed to make for peaceful resolution of the matter.
Consequently, Chief Charles Idahosa, a former Commissioner for Information and chieftain of the APC in Edo State, expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party, for their intervention in the political imbroglio in Edo State ahead of the June 22 primaries.
Speaking with Daily Independent, Idahosa, who also commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for listening to wise counsel of party leaders and making peace moves, also lauded APC governors under the aegis of Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) for the brotherhood they displayed by rallying behind one of their own.
He, however, said despite the latest development, APC leaders in Edo State were not taking things for granted because Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the party’s national chairman, was not somebody that could be trusted.
Idahosa, who was a former political adviser to Oshiomhole, said the former labour leader and his loyalists in the Edo Peoples Movement (EPM) were determined to oust Obaseki, not because of non-performance but because he refused to share the state’s resources to them.
“It is a very welcome development and I am so happy with the unity exhibited by the APC governors.
“We are very happy that the governor listened to our wise counsel to go ahead and see Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Lagos with his colleagues and they later went to Abuja to go and see Oshiomhole, while Governor Obaseki went ahead to go and see Mr. President.
“We saw our governor addressing the press at the Villa. We are also aware that the president eventually met with Oshiomhole to try as much as possible to settle the matter so that we can have peace in Edo.
“So, we are very happy and we congratulate our governor for going out to seek peace.
“I also saw the governor yesterday at the national secretariat returning his forms and I listened to what he said.
“The issue is that Oshiomhole cannot be trusted and that is why we are not leaving anything to chance here in Edo. The governor has performed creditably well.
“Even those fighting the governor under the acronym of Edo Peoples Movement (EPM) led by Oshiomhole have not accused him of non-performance.
“The only allegation they levelled against him was that he is not giving them money to share. If that is the only sin the governor has committed, not that he did not perform, we are very happy about that.
“But the problem that we envisage and we are suspicious about is that Oshiomhole lies too much. Like I have always said, he lies from both sides of his mouth. He is not consistent; he will say one thing and do something else.
“For example, he told the whole world that he did not receive any communication from Edo State APC that they didn’t want direct primary.
“But available records have shown the resolution of the whole party structure in Edo State where they sent a letter to him.
“The letter was received in his office and signed by one of his staff with the mobile number on it. So, how do you trust such a man?
“He wrote INEC on the 19th of May saying the NWC had decided on direct primary. However, the meeting of the NWC took place on the 22nd of May, three days after he wrote to INEC.
“This means that Oshiomhole has decided on what he wants even before the meeting of the NWC. How can such a man be trusted?
“So, when the governor said Oshiomhole should excuse himself from the whole process, I totally agree with him. Oshiomhole cannot be a judge in his own matter.
“Only a blind man that doesn’t know what he is doing in this country will say that he is not aware that Oshiomhole is the beginning, middle, and the end of the crisis in APC, Edo State chapter.
“So, how can he now be a judge in his own matter?
“Who took our 14 legislators to Abuja, lodged them in hotels and was feeding them until the court stepped in and said they should leave the governor alone, and that the state House of Assembly was duly inaugurated?”
