The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress yesterday upheld the disqualification of Governor Godwin Obaseki as a candidate for the party’s governorship election ticket.
Obaseki was disqualified on Friday by the party’s screening committee over alleged discrepancies in his personal and academic records while his main challenger, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, was cleared to contest the primaries scheduled for June 22.
Obaseki has said he will not appeal the decision.
On Saturday, the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, said in a live press conference in Abuja monitored on ARISE News Channel that Mr Obaseki had abused his powers as governor of Edo State.
He said Mr Obaseki orchestrated the inauguration of only nine out of 24 members of the State House of Assembly, and frustrated moves to resolve the crisis.
“Our democracy is founded on a tripod of executive, legislature and the judiciary,” he was quoted as saying. “When a Governor decides to muzzle the legislature, then democracy is dead.”
“Part of the duties and responsibilities of the National Working Committee includes organising primary elections for the nomination of its presidential candidate, governorship candidate, and candidate for election into the national and state assemblies.
“So the responsibility to carry out this exercise is fully vested in the National Working Committee. And we have exercised these responsibilities to the best of our ability,” Oshiomhole said.
Obaseki’s disqualification was earlier Saturday upheld by the party’s appeal committee.
The committee, at a press briefing, said it agreed with the screening committee’s position that it could not vouch for the authenticity of the NYSC Certificate presented by Governor Obaseki.
Meanwhile, the embattled governor, has said he was unfazed by his disqualification from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries last Friday and would therefore not give up fighting, because of the interest of the Edo people.
But the governor, who claimed to still enjoy the goodwill of a majority of the stakeholders in state, whom he said had rallied behind his resolve to fight off those angling to plunder the state’s treasury, also told his supporters he was still consulting on the next step to take and would communicate his decision as soon as he made up his mind.
Obaseki, who is though not certain yet about his next line of action, is billed to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari for the second time in less than two weeks as part of his consultations on the options before him.
But the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has intensified efforts on how to woo Obaseki to its fold to enable him run on their platform, with the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, liaising between his colleagues in PDP and the Edo State governor.
Also mixed reactions have continued to trail the disqualification of Obaseki and other APC aspirants from the party’s primary election with some stakeholders commending the move, while others showed outright aversion to it.
A statement by Obaseki’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, stated: “For Obaseki, it is Edo people or nothing. This is why he has remained in this battle thus far. Among many other reasons, each of the groups that form the governor’s support base have benefitted from Governor Obaseki’s stance against thuggery and extortion.
“The governor has enthroned probity and accountability in governance. For labour unions, regular salaries, clearing of over 20 months pension arrears and providing a conducive work environment is what is gearing them to support the governor. The pensioners are fully in support of his policies. The governor has not only cleared pension arrears accrued since 1999, but would soon commence the payment of gratuities.”
While reiterating that the governor’s loyalty lies only with Edo people, the statement added: “The governor’s loyalty rests with Edo people. He would not trade them away to those, who have decided to become godfathers and waging a war of impunity to subjugate the people.”
Continuing, the statement posited that, “The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki sincerely appreciates Edo people, Nigerians and our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, for the outpouring of goodwill and solidarity since the announcement of his unjust disqualification by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Screening Committee from the Edo governorship primary election. He thanks them for keeping the faith.
“We are consulting widely with party leaders and members in the state and other stakeholders and we shall soon brief the public on the next steps we are taking, going forward.”
The statement noted that the governor’s insistence not to appeal his disqualification was informed by his stance to not kowtow to the wishes of a handful of politicians, who do not have the interest of the people at heart.
According to the statement, “The governor is unfazed, even as he would soon announce his next line of action. But at the moment, Edo people and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are solidly standing behind the governor. They have declared unflinching support for him and the ideals he stands for.
“The market women, labour unions, clerics, women groups, the elderly, artisan groups, youths, among others, are strongly in support of the governor’s ambition and his stance to keep the state’s treasury sealed from those who have now resorted to disqualifying him from running under the APC in the gubernatorial elections, because of their selfish interests. But Governor Obaseki remains undaunted and unperturbed.”
Source: Thisdaylive
