Adams Oshiomhole, national
chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), says he expects Godwin
Obaski, governor of Edo state, to follow the examples of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Speaking with state house
correspondents during the weekend, the APC chairman accused Obaseki of
violating the constitution regarding the inauguration of nine members of the
Edo house of assembly.
Although he did not mention the
name of Obaseki, it was clear that Oshiomhole was referring to the governor.
The Edo assembly is currently
divided into two as a result of the feud between Obaseki and Oshiomhole.
Last week, nine house of assembly
lawmakers, said to be loyal to Obaseki, had edged out their colleagues by
taking oath of office “secretly”.
Reacting, Oshiomhole wondered why
the governor could not follow the steps of Buhari who issued a transparent
proclamation for the national assembly.
“How can I be a governor
physically presiding over people who are more endowed than me? But with the law
on my side, people take a bow because the law protects me,” he said.
“So it’s about rule of law. You
know the law provides for how the house should be proclaimed transparently the
day it’s announced. Members-elect are informed of date and time for
inauguration. These are clearly spelt out in the Nigerian constitution.
“President Buhari did it
transparently. He has led us by example. For me, it’s very embarrassing if any
state governor, particularly of APC extraction, will do anything that is less
than what the constitution says and the example that our president has set.
“So, you know that what happened
in Edo was that they did not publicize a proclamation letter; the members were
not informed, they did the inauguration at 9:30pm in what in a Supreme Court
judgement call nocturnal hours.
“Business of parliament is done
transparently; they are not secret cult. Now, you have a 24-member House: 19
members protested. You have six and you carry people in their short knickers.
Even in the House they have rules, the dress code. So, it happened in Edo, it
has happened in Bauchi.”
Oshiomhole, who influenced the
emergence of the governor, also dismissed those referring to him as the
godfather of Edo politics.
On Sunday, John Oyegun, former
national chairman of APC, described Oshiomhole as the biggest distraction of
Obaseki.
Oyegun asked Oshiomhole to allow
Obaseki focus on governance, saying the issue of godfatherism is heating up the
state.
However, the chairman of the
ruling party said having fought godfathers, it is impossible for him to toe
that line.
“I am a democrat. That I accept
the credit, not only that I fought godfatherism, I launched the one man, one
vote campaign to fight against election rigging anywhere in Nigeria and by the
special grace of God under PDP with Anenih alive, and at his best, I won all
the 18 local government areas and I won 95 percent of the total votes cast in
my second term election,” he said.
“So, Edo people know me and I
know them. I don’t need shortcut to sustain my position in the system. But you
know that there is nobody in Nigeria who is not open to accusations. The
important thing is that he who accuses should give you evidence.”
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