Supreme Court verdict terminated godfatherism in Edo ― Obaseki

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said that the last Friday’s judgement by the Supreme Court validating his victory as a two-term governor of the state, equally signalled the end of godfatherism in the state.

Governor Obaseki, who stated this on Tuesday, while reacting to the apex court’s judgement on the suit challenging the authenticity of his academic credentials, added that the judgement had also handed absolute freedom for the Edo people.

The governor returned to Benin City, on Tuesday, as he was away when the Supreme Court dismissed the suit filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC), his main rival during the September 19, 2020 governorship election. He was received at the Benin Airport by a mammoth crowd of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters.

“For us in Edo, this victory means freedom and emancipation; it means that we must rededicate ourselves to our people because democracy is all about the people,” the elated governor enthused.

“Democracy is not about an individual or godfather. We have defeated the godfather finally in Edo, in our quest to take Edo to where it should be”, Obaseki said in open reference to how he was denied a second term ticket by the APC due to his unending dispute with his predecessor and former National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

The governor gave thanks to God for seeing him through all the political travails, saying that the people all witnessed what he had gone through in the last two or three years in the efforts to reposition the politics of Edo State.

“They threw all sorts of trash at us, but by the grace of God, the verdict of the Supreme Court is just the final straw. All the court cases that we have gone through, all the challenges we have faced in the last two years, we have won every one of them.

“This is by the grace of God: I will not say it is my own doing; it is God that has led us through all of these challenges. But I believe that what is more important is the meaning of this victory. For us, we must rededicate ourselves to the work, which we have started for Edo people.”

“We cannot look back. At this time of the life of this country, we are faced with major critical challenges and as if we knew, we had started repositioning our state. The people who are fighting us are the same fake people that are pulling this country down even at the national level,” Obaseki noted.

Reacting to the congratulatory messages issued by Oshiomhole and the APC candidate in the election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, after the Supreme Court judgement, the governor said he was yet to receive an original copy of the letters signed by the duo.

It would be recalled that while Obaseki sought refuge in the PDP and won his reelection, the APC did not contest the outcome at the Election Petitions Tribunal, but rather concentrated on the pre-election case of certificate forgery it instituted against Obaseki.

The APC, having lost at the lower court, appealed up to the apex court and had the matter thrown out by the Supreme Court on Friday because, according to the court, APC failed to prove the allegation of forgery.

By Monday, both Oshiomhole and Ize-Iyamu, dropped their usual belligerent postures by congratulating Obaseki and sued for peace and magnanimity of the governor, especially for the 14 house of assembly members-elect, who, because of their loyalty to Oshiomhole, refused to be inaugurated in June 2019, when the governor issued the proclamation instrument.

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