Immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has again pointed fingers of scorn at his successor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, over the crisis rocking the state assembly.
The state has been embroiled in crisis following the election of a Speaker for the Edo State House of Assembly by 9 members in the 24-member Parliament. The House of Representatives last Wednesday passed a resolution that the State Assembly be shut down. The Senate ad-hoc committee on the crisis led by Senator Abdullahi Sabi met with twelve of the aggrieved lawmakers same week.
Chief Oyegun in a statement issued at the weekend by his Public Affairs Adviser, Chief Ray Morphy accused the APC national chairman of instigating the crisis in Edo State. Incidentally, both Oyegun and Oshiomhole are from the south-south state.
Oyegun expressed concern that Godwin Obaseki, being the only APC governor in the south-south state deserved the support of all APC chieftains in the state and not the distraction to his administration which he further alleged was being orchestrated by no less a person by the party national chairman.
Oyegun while accusing Oshiomhole of anti-party activities called on Governor Obaseki’s colleagues in the Progressives Governors’ Forum to rally round him.
He said: “The recent outburst by Governor Obaseki and the report by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee, indicting the current National Chairman of the APC, have confirmed my earlier claim that Oshiomhole is not only the architect but also responsible for fuelling the crisis in Edo State.
“In the face of these confirmations, I want to urge Oshiomhole to stop disgracing the ruling party and the good people of Edo State. I wonder how he could easily forget that I never interfered or bothered about how he ran the government as the then governor of Edo State all the while I occupied the position of the party’s National chairman.
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“I am yet to come to terms why it has become difficult for Oshiomhole to realise that Governor Obaseki is the only APC governor in the entire south-south and should be allowed to concentrate on giving the people of Edo the dividends of democracy.
“It is shocking that a man who boastfully claimed to have buried godfatherism in the Edo State politics could become enmeshed in playing God to his successor. Oshiomhole is not only guilty of godfatherism but also guilty of anti-party activities considering the ignorable role he has been playing and his shameful involvement in the whole Edo crisis.
“Rather than dissipating energy in fomenting more crises, Oshiomhole should rather concentrate on ensuring that the Federal Government policies conform with the party’s manifesto and campaign promises to the good people of this country.
“I appeal to him once more to stop disgracing the governing party APC and Edo State. He should give the governor a breeding space to concentrate on doing the job of serving the people of Edo State.
“I want to also appeal to the Progressives Governors not to stand aside and watch their fellow governor hampered by a party chairman whose actions may lead to the political misfortune of the party in the state.”
In his response, Chief Press Secretary to Comrade Oshiomhole, Simon Ebegbulem said his boss would not trade words with Oyegun’s media aide. The APC national chairman advised his immediate predecessor “to come out openly.”
He said: “I have no comment. Chief Oyegun is a respected leader of the party and an elder statesman. Comrade Oshiomhole has so much respect for him. If he really wants to address Oshiomhole he can come out openly to address the man who succeeded him in office and not one Murphy.”
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