National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has called on the electorate in Edo State not to vote for Governor Godwin Obaseki in Saturday’s governorship election in the state, saying the governor does not deserve a single vote in the poll exercise.
Tinubu made the call, on Tuesday, while speaking in a sponsored broadcast on TVC in Lagos, which has gone viral on social media, urging Edo voters to reject Obaseki, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with their votes as he lacked democratic ethics being a non- democrat.
“He (Obaseki) does not deserve any democratic ballot paper. Don’t vote for him, I appeal to all of you,” Tinubu said.
The former Lagos State governor, while making the plea argued that Obaseki was nowhere to be found in the 1990s when he and others were in the forefront of the nation’s democratic struggle, and, therefore, could not appreciate democratic institutions.
“I want to appeal to you to reject Godwin Obaseki in this coming election. I have suffered from many others to bring about this democratic regime, that today, we are enjoying in the country. Then, Godwin Obaseki didn’t participate in any aspect of the struggle to enshrine democracy in the country.
“Therefore, he could not understand the value and the pains associated with this democratic struggle,” he said.
The APC National Leader equally accused Governor Obaseki of preventing 14 of the 24 elected Edo House of Assembly members from being inaugurated, saying he achieved this by ignoring wise counsel offered by the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation that the affected members be inaugurated.
According to him, Obaseki rather than listen to the wise counsel supervised the destruction of the State House of Assembly Complex in further attempt to prevent the elected lawmakers from being sworn-in, saying such cumulative attitude on his part showed an act of dictatorship, lack of respect for rule of law and “lack of respect for you, the people who voted for those legislators prevented from being sworn-in.”
He, therefore, urged the people of Edo State to ensure they ensure that they deny him their votes in Saturday poll exercise, maintains that Obaseki was far from being a democrat.
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“He (Obaseki) demonstrated the act of dictatorship, lack of respect for rule of law, lack of respect for you, the people who voted for those legislators prevented from being sworn-in. Today, he now comes back as a democrat wanting you to vote for him. Please, I appeal to you, reject him.
“Several institutions and leaders of our country appealed to him to respect constitutional democracy but he rejected all entreaties. He rejected the appeal of the National Assembly.
“When the Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria enumerated the path of honour and the constitution of the country, rather than obey and respect the law, he vandalised the House of Assembly in Edo by removing the roofs, burning gravels and rocks at the entrance of the House of Assembly only to prevent these 14 members from being sworn-in,” Tinubu stated.
“Now, he is asking for our votes, your votes, our dear people. Is he a democrat? No, he is not,” he added.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lambasted National Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over his video targeted at Governor Godwin Obaseki, telling the former Lagos State Governor to stay away from Edo State election and face the woes of his party.
A statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary in Abuja, on Tuesday, in reaction, said the party was amused by the amateur video in which Tinubu “violated all tenets of democracy by attempting to arrogate to himself supremacy powers, lord over the people of Edo State and dictate their choice of leadership.”
The main opposition party, said: “it is indeed pathetic and derisory that Asiwaju is claiming to be the leader of all democrats in Nigeria, which obviously he is not, while at the same time violating the fundamental of democracy, which is allowing a people to freely chose their leaders without confrontations with lies, coercion, mudslinging, slanders and beguiling as exhibited in his amateur video.
“It smacks of unpardonable hypocrisy that an individual who claims to be a democrat will at the same time chose to sit in the comfort of his residence to insult the people of Edo State over their manifest choice of Governor Godwin Obaseki as their preferred leader, for another term of four years, due to his sterling democratic qualities and performance in office.
“Asiwaju cannot be claiming to be a democrat while campaigning for an individual that has already been rejected by the people of Edo state, having been exposed by none other than the former national chairman of his party, Adams Oshiomhole, as a thief, fake pastor, acid bather, a person of questionable character who is only fit for “night meetings” and should not be trusted with the position of the governor of Edo State.
“We know that Asiwaju is desperate to re-launch himself into relevance but can someone who wants the nation to believe that he is a democrat be campaigning alongside self-confessed liar, who has been rejected by his kinsmen and suspended as national chairman of his party, all in the quest to install a stooge in office?
“Asiwaju must be reminded that Edo State is not part of his fiefdom and that the needless sanctimonious pomposity which he displayed in the broadcast will never sway the people.
“This is because Edo State is home to very eminent and exceedingly intelligent personalities including highly revered royal fathers, religious and community leaders, astute public administrators, outstanding politicians and captains of industry, who are not ready to alter their resolve for Governor Obaseki.
“If anything, Asiwaju’s broadcast has again exposed an imperialist agenda against the Edo people, a development that has further strengthened the resolve of the people of Edo state to permanently put an end to political godfatherism, which Asiwaju represents in the Nigerian political firmament.”
The PDP furthermore said: “Without conceding to Asiwaju’s jejune argument, we ask, what contribution to democracy did he found in President Muhammadu Buhari when he presented him, then as General Buhari, to Nigerians ahead of the 2015 presidential election?
“Moreover, Nigerians are gradually seeing through Asiwaju’s claims of having fought for democracy as mere myth. The true heroes of democracy include the founding fathers of our party and the regular people of Nigeria, who unlike most self-acclaimed leaders of democrats, never sneaked out of the shores of our country but stood firm to the very end.”
The party recalled that it had severally cautioned Tinubu to steer clear of its candidates and desist from “infantile attention-seeking in a political dispensation that has moved beyond unnecessary ego trips.”
“The people of Edo State had since made up their minds to re-elect Governor Obaseki and APC leaders such as Asiwaju, in their vanity should come to terms with that,” the PDP declared.
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