Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki who is seeking a fresh ticket of his All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the September governorship election, has denied speculation of a move to dump the party for the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speculation is rife that Governor Obaseki has been assured of an automatic ticket by the latter party.
But the Edo State governor who stormed the APC national secretariat on Wednesday to submit his nomination form said he has no such plot to dump the APC.
He said he was determined to win the June 22 primary, no matter the option adopted by the national secretariat under the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Governor Obaseki is believed to have a preference for indirect primaries as against the direct option chosen by the APC National Working Committee.
ALSO READ: Court sentences illicit drug dealer to 10 yrs imprisonment
But the Edo State governor said he would not abandon the APC for the PDP.
He said: “It is very absurd. I am someone that is very exposed. How can I collect from two parties when we have rulings in past disqualifying people on that. I am a party man to the core. APC is my party because I come from a progressive political family. I believe in the ideals of APC, I believe in our President, I believe in what he stands for so I am a party man to the core. I am not an old-style politician. I represent a new direction of politics that is based on facts and truth, not lies.”
Governor Obaseki justified his aspiration for a fresh mandate as he restated his mission to build on what he has achieved in the south-south state in the last three years.
“Three years is not enough, four years is not enough to crystalise all these reforms and we have all witnesses in Nigeria to have genuine reforms truncated. So, another four years will give me that opportunity to consolidate on what we have done and that is a promise of APC. We are a reformist party, we are a progressive party. That’s why I’m here today to indicate my interest and my desire to run for another term as governors of Edo so that I can continue in the service of my people.”
The Edo State governor who alleged that the national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole has a favoured candidate to emerge as the standard-bearer of the party for the September election, however, warned his immediate predecessor in office to stay away from the June primary.
He equally opened up to journalists that his visit to a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu was a troubleshooting move to ensure that peace returned to the Edo state chapter of the party.
“The reason why I went to see our National Leader is that I don’t want the party to turn apart. I am a man of peace.
“For me and my colleague governors, we cannot see a party we built destroyed, we cannot see a ruling party be so weakened and whatever it will take to secure peace, to secure harmony in the party, we are prepared to, I am prepared to make.
“That is why I joined my colleagues to go and see the leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to assure him that we are all working for the same course, we are all working to build our party. From 26 States, we are now 20. We don’t want to lose any more state, there is really no reason to. “We should all drop our egos and work for our party and the unity of our country.
“On a final note, I am actively pursuing peace, actively pursuing harmony in our party, particularly at home and I believe that we will secure peace.
“However, I am using this opportunity to call on Comrade Oshiomhole to excuse himself from the Edo nomination process because he is an interested party. It is against natural justice for a man to be a judge in his own case. So I think the honourable thing to do is to excuse himself and let’s have a free process and let’s reconcile and build our party.”
and then