Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has decried the statement credited to former Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, that the party’s governorship candidate for Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, would not win the forthcoming poll, describing such statement as nonsensical, adding that no member of South-West PDP is in agreement with such.
George, who is a member of Board of Trustees of PDP, also flayed Fayose for vowing to jail former President Olusegun Obasanjo if he becomes president, describing such comment as an abomination, cautioning him to behave as a true son of Yoruba land, therefore, should not talk ill of people who were much older than him.
The party chieftain expressed this concern while speaking with Tribune Online on the telephone, saying he felt very troubled with the comment made by Fayose that Governor Obaseki of Edo State would not win the coming poll.
Chief George, while dissociating himself and the South-West PDP from the statement, declared total support of the zone for the party’s governorship candidate, saying the party was happy to have him in its fold “and by the grace of the Almighty God and the support of the good people of South-West he would win.”
“I feel very troubled with the comment made by former Governor Ayo Fayose on Obaseki where he said that he would not do that.
“I want to talk to a very senior member of the Board of Trustees of PDP. I want to say I dissociate from that statement and that nobody, no member of South-West of PDP is in agreement with the statement.
“We are completely in support of the candidature of Obaseki, we are happy to have him in the party and by the grace of the Almighty God and the support of the good people of South-West he would win,” the elder statesman said.
The party chieftain, while insisting that the South-West PDP was completely against the statement made by Fayose, said such was his personal opinion which did not portray him as a committed and concerned PDP member.
According to George, it was incumbent on every loyal party member to support the candidate the party leadership must have put forward, even as he enjoined the former governor, who he said had been “firing from all cylinders” to take deep breathe “because life is not a straight line.”
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“Completely, we negated that statement, we are completely opposed to the statement. It was a statement from his own mind. Whatever is the purpose, wherever that is coming from, for me that does not show a commitment, a concerned member’s attitude of PDP?
“When the party, the national manager and other leaders decided that is our candidate, we all must support him, that is the loyalty to the party and this day, he has been firing from all cylinders. We want to advise him to take deep breaths because life is not a straight line,” he said.
“I am advising him as an elderly person who has been of help to him to rise to the level of being the governor of Ekiti State. Enough of this brigandage, enough of this nonsense. He should go and cool off,” he added.
Speaking further, Chief George, while condemning also Fayose over his comment on Obasanjo following the condolence message issued by the former president on the death of Senator Buruji Kashamu, said it was not right to be insulting and casting aspersion on older people.
“Look at the kind of statement he is even making that if he becomes president, he would jail Obasanjo. In Yoruba land, it is an abomination, you don’t talk ill of people who are much older than you, people who are old enough to be your father or mother, you cannot. Let him read the Bible, let him go to the Proverbs, you must respect your father and mother otherwise the cause on you would be perpetual, no matter what.
“As a believer in God, leave everything to God, you let everything pass. For you to be insulting, for you to be casting aspersion is not right. I know him (Fayose), he would never allow anybody younger than him to insult him,” he said.
“We know the attitude he has against people who are against him in Ekiti. And to now bring it back to say Obaseki would not win, Obaseki would not do this, Obaseki would not do that is wrong. Obaseki is carrying the flag of the party, he is the candidate of our party, does he know what they call loyalty? he queried.
“I am talking as a senior BoT member of this party in the South-West. For the past 22 years, I have been a member here and we would not allow anybody with such character to destroy what we have built for the past years, never, never,” he vowed.
and then