By Gabriel Enogholase

AGAINST the backdrop of the controversy surrounding his  governorship ambition on the platform of Accord, Dr. Don Pedro Osaro Obaseki has promised to spread development in the state on his assumption of office from November 12, 2016.

This is even as he said that neither Godwin Obaseki nor Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu means well for the state.

Fielding questions from journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Benin yesterday, he said, “my relationship with some of the major parties candidates is cordial. I don’t have anything against anybody. Whether Godwin Obaseki or Osagie Ize-Iyamu; the two of them are my first cousins.

“One is from my grandmother side and the other from my grandfather side. They were close to me.  At least Godwin was close to me at a time, but I know that he doesn’t mean well for the Edo person. That’s the truth, and I have made it clear to him. For Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the sheer inordinate pursuit is worrisome. I am presenting myself as an alternative.”

On the controversy surrounding his nomination, he said, “INEC recognized the National Chairman of Accord Party as  Alhaji Lawal Mohammed Nalado and the Edo State chairman is Hon. Joseph Osa Omorogbe, I have duly obtained my nomination form from the National Headquarters and with INEC Certification in Abuja.”

On his reasons for dumping the APC for Accord, Obaseki said that he took the option on discovering that the governorship primaries process had been skewed in favour of an anointed candidate.