The Guardian (Nigeria)

Obaseki, Wike hold secret talks

• Aide flays ‘ unjust disqualifi­cation’ as govs caution NWC on fairness

- From Kelvin Ebiri ( Port Harcourt), Leo Sobechi, Seye Olumide ( Lagos), Adamu Abuh ( Abuja) and Michael Egbejule ( Benin City)

EDO State Governor Godwin Obaseki yesterday held a closed- door meeting with his Rivers State counterpar­t and strongman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) Nyesom Wike.

The meeting lasted about 45 minutes, after which both governors declined to speak to journalist­s.

Later, Obaseki tweeted appreciati­on for the solidasrit­y and goodwill of Edo people and Nigerians amid the alleged injustice meted out to him by the All Progressiv­es Congress’ ( APC) screening committee. He also said he would reveal his next move after consulting his supporters and meeting President Muhammadu Buhari. The visit, the first by Obaseki since he became governor, came at a time the Edo helmsman is facing fierce opposition from his party, ahead of next week’s governorsh­ip primary. A committee set up by the party had ruled last week that Obaseki could not contest in the primary.

Pleading anonymity, a source close to Wike, who is also a PDP chieftain, told The Guardian that Obaseki’s visit could herald his defection to the PDP.

“In the event of Obaseki’s possible defection to the PDP, he will need the support of Governor Wike, who is one of the most formida

ble PDP governors in the South South. Considerin­g the fact that Wike survived the APC onslaught in the 2019 general elections, you can see why the visit could be considered strategic,” the source said.

But a former Edo State Commission­er for Agricultur­e, Abdul Oroh, dismissed Obaseki’s romance with PDP stalwarts, saying: “Half of the strength of the PDP is now with us. They are not going to win. He can run to the governors of the South South, who have not been able to develop the Niger Delta in spite of the huge amount of money they have collected as oil revenue.”

Also, a frontline governorsh­ip aspirant in the PDP, Kenneth Imasuagbon, said the meeting did not raise any cause for concern, being a simple case of one governor visiting his colleague. He dismissed insinuatio­ns that the visit could be part of plans to circumvent the process and hand over the party’s ticket to Obaseki. “Is Obaseki a member of the PDP? Is Wike with the membership register of the party in Edo State?” Imasuagbon queried.

He explained that the unnecessar­y frenzy about what Obaseki did or did not do was being created by the APC to cover the injury and duplicity in its relationsh­ip with the governor. According to him, what should occupy the minds of patriotic Edo indigenes is how to create wealth and banish poverty in the state.

This was as Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media and Communicat­ion Strategy, yesterday, took a swipe at the APC’S appeal committee in a statement titled ‘ Obaseki’s Unjust Disqualifi­cation: Appeal Committee Can’t Uphold A Matter Never Appealed’.

“The charade of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his puppet screening committee seems to know no end and their commitment towards the destructio­n of what is left of the smoldering integrity of our great party under Oshiomhole’s watch appears assured,” Osagie said. He noted: “As if the embarrassm­ent, which they brought to the party through the shameless and unjust disqualifi­cation of Governor Godwin Obaseki by the screening committee was not sufficient, they have now gone ahead to announce that the appeal committee has upheld the dubious disqualifi­cation. “The question is, how does an appeal committee claim to uphold an issue that was not appealed. The governor has been unequivoca­l in his stance that he was not going to appeal the socalled disqualifi­cation by a screening committee that can best be described as a gathering of court jesters, who congregate­d to massage the ego of their paymaster, who is Comrade Oshiomhole.

“Juxtaposin­g this comical, distastefu­l and disgracefu­l charade against the mantra of change, integrity, social justice and progress, which ought to be the character of our great party, the APC reveals the depth of the abyss into which Comrade Oshiomhole has dragged the party.”

Asked why the committee upheld a decision that was never appealed, APC National Legal Adviser Babatunde Ogala replied: “I am not supposed to be interrogat­ed on this matter because the committee we set up has submitted its report and we have accepted it. If there is any questions to be asked, I don’t think I am in the right position to answer.”

But an APC chieftain, Fouad Oki, said Ogala should not be expected to speak the truth on the issue, “since he understand­s that what the National Working Committee ( NWC) did was not right.” Oki however refused to comment further, saying he was not really sure if Obaseki filed an appeal against his disqualifi­cation or not.

He hoped that Edo State would “not become a theater of bloodletti­ng during and after the primary,” and urged the APC leadership to “call the national chairman to order.”

In another twist, a source within the Edo State chapter of the APC told The Guardian that a plot was ongoing to harass Obaseki’s aides using one of the nation’s anti- corruption agencies.

 ?? PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU ?? Containers at Apapa Port during COVID- 19 lockdown in Lagos
PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU Containers at Apapa Port during COVID- 19 lockdown in Lagos

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