A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has taunted Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state, over his exit from the ruling party.
APC had disqualified Obaseki from the governorship primary over alleged discrepancies in his certificate which subsequently led to the governor’s defection to the opposing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which granted him waiver to seek its ticket for Edo State governorship election.
Ize-Iyamu, in an interview with The Sun, said Obaseki attempted to impose himself as the candidate of APC before he was disqualified.
There are indications that the two of them will swap places in the September 19 election, Ize-Iyamu, the APC candidate and Obaseki, the PDP candidate.
But Ize-Iyamu said he is confident of defeating the governor who trounced him in 2016 when he was the PDP candidate.
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“He (Obaseki) has now left the party, following his rightful disqualification. Many party members heaved a sigh of relief when he left and currently, we are closing ranks and unifying the party for the election,” he said.
“Should my party elect me at the primaries on June 22, all the issues you speak of will be resolved in no time because really, they are all political. As aforementioned, we are already reaching out to everyone involved now that the bad apple has voluntarily taken itself out of the bag.”
Ize-Iyamu said the people of Edo are unhappy with the governor and ready to send him out of office.
“Whether in the APC or any other platform, as long as the contest will be determined by Edo people, I am confident of victory against him. If you drive around the state today and feel the pulse of the people, you will understand why I am that confident,” he said.
“The verdict is out on Obaseki’s term as governor and in summary, the people are tired of his problematic leadership, which has focused only on personal battles and needless confrontations.
“These contentions are not unusual during election campaigns and processes. Nevertheless, there is a feeling of peculiarity with that of Edo State at this time due largely to desperation of the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki, who was determined to impose himself on the party in ways that were undemocratic before his exit.
“You saw how he attempted all kinds of tactics, including restricting membership of the party only to those who shared his view, making his personal wishes the law, and devoting resources into brewing confusion and chaos across all levels of the party’s leadership just to have his way.
“However, as you know, he has now left the party, following his rightful disqualification. Many party members heaved a sigh of relief when he left and currently, we are closing ranks and unifying the party for the election. Should my party elect me at the primaries on June 22, all the issues you speak of will be resolved in no time because really, they are all political.”
 in Edo, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has taunted Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state, over his exit){kind=link}