Make peace with your opponents, PDP tells Obaseki

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has told Governor Godwin Obaseki to make peace in the state and accept any opposition members willing to work with him.

PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, gave him the advice when he led Edo PDP stakeholders on a “thank you visit” to the national secretariat in Abuja on Monday.

The party boss reminded him that elections are over and it is time bring everyone together including “those that offended you.”

Citing the instance of Rivers State where he observed that opposition party are daily joining the ruling party, Secondus explained that the mark of a good politician is his ability to unite the people and work to satisfy their yearning and aspiration.

The governor, who joined the PDP from the All Progressive Congress (APC) just before the September 19 poll, promised to repay PDP’s gesture of providing him with a platform with loyalty to the party.

Speaking to reporters on the fate of the 14 state house members-elect loyal to former APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who declined to be inaugurated, Governor Obaseki said he has no power to return them to the house since their seats have been declared vacant according to law.

He explained: “We have a dissident group that people elected and refused to be inaugurated. They were not prevented. They were listening to their godfather who kept hoping and promising that he would unconstitutionally get the state House of Assembly to reissue a proclamation even after the court had settled the matter.

“For more than 180 days they did not come. They refused to represent the people. Those seats became vacant; that’s what the constitution says. They went to court after their seats were declared vacant by the Speaker.

“There is nothing I can do at this time. I wish it didn’t happen but people were playing god and promising what is not constitutional.

“I’m not one that plants people into the house of assembly. They on their own operated the rules the way it should be. The seats are now vacant.

“Even if I wanted today to bring them back, I don’t have such powers.”

Obaseki had pointed out that his delegation was at the national secretariat of the PDP to thank the leadership for providing them with a platform and supporting him to win the election.

He said: “The purpose is simple: we are here to say thank you. In our place, they say it is only the grateful person that expects more favours to be done him. For us as a people, we do not forget where we are coming from easily. We are a people of history and people of culture.

“When we sit down today to savour the victory and glory which God has given us, we cannot forget how it all started; that it was in this same premises that you did all you could to admit me into the party after I had been disqualified from the other party.

“You helped smoothen our entrance into PDP, you cleared us in record time so that we could participate in the primaries of the party. You helped us navigate through the whole process in which the other aspirants stepped down for me to allow me to contest as the flag bearer for the party.

“What is significant for Nigerians to note is that all of this happened within the 90 days time frame. It is a record. It shows that you have men and women who are competent, professional, experienced and who mean well and understand what party administration is all about to be able to put all these together in a national party, without the kind of rancour we would have ordinarily expected.

“We also recall with thanks the support you gave to us when we started campaigning. Our campaigns were different because nobody in our political history has had to campaign on the kind of era that we are in today.

“Some people will like to take this for granted. How could you even organise a kick-off rally with COVID? You gave us advice and support and showed Nigerians how to cope politically in a pandemic era.

“Working with your advice and strategy, we undertook a ward-to-ward campaign and I thank God that we did because it was only then that we realised the spread of PDP in Edo State.

“Every hamlet, every community we went to, there were vestiges of PDP in which we could build in something.

“As if that was not enough, the election itself, the preparations and what transpired on September 19, the ability to mobilise the governors and for the first time in my political career, I felt I was in a political family.

“All of you are witnesses to what happened, the backing, the support, the doggedness which was displayed by our great party on September 19. It is all history now, but it is important that we do not forget what transpired.

“Our gratitude will be better expressed by staying loyal, hardworking and by rebuilding and making sure that as long as God permits, PDP will remain the party in control in Edo State and the whole of the South-South.”

Among those who accompanied the governor to the party secretariat were his deputy, Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu; former Works and Housing minister, Mike Ononlememen; former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi; Edo PDP Chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi and members of Edo State House of Assembly.