Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja
A group of leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, known as the Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), has said the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, does not deserve a second term of office.
The group, in a statement signed by former Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, Samson Osagie and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Thomas Okosun, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Friday, also called on the chairman of the APC in Edo state, Mr Anslem Ojezua, to resign his position, alleging that he has failed to find solution to the crisis bedeviling the party in the state.
The group’s reaction followed the declaration for a second term by governor Obaseki in Benin City on Thursday.
According to the leaders, Governor Obaseki has not given a good, tangible and acceptable account of his stewardship, three years into his administration, adding however that the governor merely attempted to spoil the APC brand by employing deceitful tactics to give Edo people the impression that he is performing.
“Governor Obaseki exhibited the highest degree of infidelity to Edo people and the All Progressive Congress by abandoning projects he participated in sourcing funds for, and then turned around to blackmail the same government that started those projects.
“He did that because to continue the funding of those projects will not avail him the quick wins of looting Edo funds as quick as he would like, hence he resorted to all manners of intangible projects like Alaghodaro summits 1 and 2, over 25 Seminars, workshops, talkshops, conferences, trainings using his his cronies and allies from other places, over 50 foreign trips for the sole purpose of executing MoUs at great expense to the state without any tangible benefit to Edo people and the party.
“So, Governor Obaseki is only dreaming to think that because he is the custodian of our collective patrimony he will intimidate us and hoodwink Edo people to shy away from giving him a run for our money he is amassing to run for second term.
“Let this serve as notice to him that some of us are going to present ourselves for next year’s gubernatorial elections and by the time the array of contestants are unveiled, Edo people will not chose deceit over sincerity, rhetorics over substance and a government that has encouraged capital flight from the state over a government that will make sure the resources of the state circulates among its citizens.
“For close to three years, Governor Obaseki major achievements are in a few storey buildings in the high court premises and the Secretariat. Schools infrastructures have deteriorated, standard road infrastructures are no longer carried out, drains are not desillted, erosion rendering inhabitants homeless and rule of law have taken flight. Where then is the good governance?
“Obviously, this is not the APC brand of government that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole laboured to institute in Edo State. So let it be clear to Governor Obaseki and his coterie of sycophants and carpets baggers that real development will come to Edo State not by rhetorics and deceit, but by genuine and sincere implementation of existing master plans in infrastructural development and painstaking approach to provision of social services that will guarantee the welfare and security of the people.
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“This is the only way that the massive security vote, voluminous revenues from the Federation account in various forms and the internally generated revenue can be justified. Governance is not rocket science and Obaseki cannot school in the art of good governance. We know it, Late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia gave it to old Midwest Region, Professor Ambrose Alli gave it to Bendel State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole demonstrated it in Edo, what we have now is a far cry. Edo State deserves better than what we are getting now” the statement said.
In the same vein, the party leaders also called on the state APC chairman, Ojezua to resign, saying “the crisis that enveloped APC today in Edo State is as a result of the poor or complete lack of leadership quality of Barr Ojezua who instead of pursuing the path of peace in the party choose to side with his pay master the Governor of Edo State Godwin Obaseki who has chosen to fraternise with members of the opposition party than members of the party that brought him to office.
“Under Barr Ojezua’s watch, the Governor and his Deputy formed what they called Obaseki/Shuaibu Movement (OSM). Barr Anslem Ojezua did not see anything wrong with such movement. In fact, he gave a public endorsement to the so called OSM urging all party members to support the movement.
“So we wonder what moral right Anslem Ojezua has to threaten members of EPM who believes in saving the party from the path that he and Governor Godwin Obaseki is taking our party. Anslem Ojezua has never hidden that fact that he is a factional party Chairman as his sole interest is what he can gain from the Governor rather than the survival of our party”, it said.
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