…….The aggrieved PDP leaders in Edo state accuse Obaseki of actions he fought Oshiomhole for in APC
It is things fall apart between the 63yr old Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, and the leaders of his new party, People’s Democratic (PDP).
We gathered that Obaseki and the leaders of the PDP in Edo state led by chairman Anthony Aziegbemi are enmeshed in a battle for control.
Obaseki who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Ibadan wants to fully take charge of the PDP in Edo State in the guise of dissolving the state executive to harmonize all factions his accusers claim.
Party chairman Aziegbemi and his backers are strongly kicking against the alleged ploy.
They accuse Obaseki who joined the PDP on June 19, 2020 – from the APC – to win his reelection on September 20, 2020, of clandestine moves to hijack the party by installing his co-travelers from the APC as replacements.
The Governor secured his first term in 2016 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but was disqualified from seeking a second term in June 2020 over allegations that have root in an intense supremacy battle with godfather Adams Oshiomhole.
The aggrieved PDP leaders in Edo state accuse Obaseki of actions he fought Oshiomhole for in APC and have written a petition on the issue to the National Secretariat of the PDP.
Part of the allegations against Obaseki who was a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Council (2006 – 2009) is that he is plotting to make Anselm Ojezua, a loyalist that defected from APC in December 2020 the state chairman of the PDP.
While Obaseki is said to have refused to back down on the dissolution of the state executive of the PDP to allow for harmonization of all factions and a more virile party in preparation for a better political future, we learned that the party leaders at the receiving end of the move and their sympathizers have vowed to engage him in a fight to finish.
They alleged Obaseki of having his loyalists from APC as Deputy Governor (Philip Shaibu) and Secretary to the State Government (Osarordion Ogie) contrary to agreements that facilitated his defection from APC and now wants to make another defector from APC the party chairman in the state in a move that sidelines the original PDP members.
“Obviously it is things fall apart but hopefully, it will not turn a déjà vu of the fight with Oshiomhole in PDP for Obaseki” we gathered.
The fight with Oshiomhole greatly hampered Obaseki’s performance in his first term in office because many believe “whatever achievements he recorded, he would have done far better without the distractions it caused” we gathered.
Emerging details have it that incumbent party chairman Aiegbemi and Secretary Hilary Otsu – backed by the state working committee of the PDP in Edo state – are battling hard to stop Obaseki’s alleged ploy to hijack the party and become the unilateral decision-maker.
Society Now.