By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — GOVERNOR Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Tuesday resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The governor, who announced this while speaking with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that he will soon disclose the political platform on which he will be seeking re-election in the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo State.

Governor Obaseki took a swipe at his predecessor and National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, describing him as one that has brigandage as his stock of trade and one that was scared of people that are educated.

He explained that he was at the State House to see President Muhammadu Buhari in fulfillment of his promise that before he takes any decision on his political future after being disqualified by the APC Screening Committee, that he would brief the President.

He said, “You remember in my last tweet, I said that I will make a decision, after my disqualification was announced by APC, that I will make a decision after I have consulted with the leadership and my supporters in Edo State and also having informed the President.

“I am just here today to inform you that I have now decided, formally, to resign my membership of the All Progressives Congress. Having done, that I will now announce in the next few days my specific line of action and what platform I will be contesting the gubernatorial election.”

Asked why he resigned his membership of the ruling party, he said, “I am sure the whole country knows and is aware of what has gone on with me and the party chairman in party leadership, which culminated in my disqualification as a gubernatorial aspirant and upon that unfortunate decision by the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, I have decided to go and seek my gubernatorial aspiration on another platform.”

Answering question on the comment made by the National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Oshiomhole that incumbency is not a factor for him to win the election, he simply said, “Time will tell. Let us go to the polls and Nigerians will see.”

Commenting on the alleged inconsistencies in his credentials which was one of the reasons for his disqualification, Obaseki said, “Someone who hasn’t gone to school, who doesn’t have certificate himself, will not know and understand what inconsistencies in certificates are, that’s the starting point.

“What is the inconsistency? There’s no inconsistency in my certificates. The issue was in 2016, when I contested for gubernatorial election, I could not find the originals of my certificates because I hadn’t required them for more than two decades.

READ ALSO: Edo 2020: Why Obaseki, Shaibu dumped APC

“So, I deposed to an affidavit that I couldn’t find the originals. Subsequently, I found all the original copies of all my certificates and they are with me. So I don’t understand what’s inconsistent about that.

“Maybe the inconsistency in the Youths Corps certificate where he said my surname was missing an ‘i’ at the end, but if you look at that it was like a cursive, it was written in a cursive manner. So if that’s inconsistency for him, then it’s really sad that people of that quality are leading the Nigeria’s ruling party.

“For him, it was just to look for an excuse to take whatever decision he wants to take and it’s really sad that the party structure today gives him that sort of authority without checks, that is dangerous for any system or any institution. When you give authority and responsibility to people who don’t have character, people who do not have finesse, a sense of justice, then that institution is imperiled.”

Fielding question on what he discussed with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governors over the weekend, he said that he went to get advice for people that had passed through re-election process before.

He said, “First, these are my brother governors who are from my sub-region, some of them have gone through similar experience I am going through. It is only proper that when you have challenges of this nature, you will go and talk to people who have gone through similar experience for advice. That is basically what I went to do with them.”

Asked whether he would provide level playing ground for party primaries as Oshiomhole claimed, he said, “He, Adams Oshiomhole, has he? As governor (Nyesom) Wike said, he should practice what he preaches, he has never done so. He has not provided a level playing ground even in the selection process, the disqualification process: what is the basis for disqualifying someone like Chris Ogiemwonyi?

Oshiomhole scared of educated people

“You are afraid of people who are educated because you didn’t go to school. You are afraid of people who have something to offer because all he knows how to offer is brigandage, crisis. So for us, Nigeria has to move forward beyond some of the characters who are currently overseeing our political polity and they are scared.

“They are scared that when people of substance, when people who are proven, when people who have succeeded in other aspects of life come into politics, they will be history. For me, this fight is not about grabbing political power, it’s not about me, it’s not about trying to prove a sense of importance, no. It’s for us, 21 years into this Republic, democracy must mature, but as democracy is maturing, we now need to begin to show that politics cannot and should not be the preserve of a certain character of people.

“People of accomplishment, people of knowledge, people of character must also be accommodated in the political space. You don’t have to be a ruffian to be a politician, you don’t have to be a brigand to be a politician, you don’t have to be a thief to be a politician.”

On his chances of winning election on another party platform, he expressed optimism that the people of Edo State will support his re-election.

READ ALSO: Edo Deputy Gov, Philip Shaibu resigns membership of APC

He said, “I am sure if you have scanned the environment, you have scanned the media, you have scanned social media, the reaction from people across the world, particularly Edos at home and in the Diaspora, has for me has been unbelievable. They have said to me, ‘wherever you go, we go’.”

Asked why he chose the State House to make his decision, he said, “I have said that before I make a decision, I have to show respect to my President, who I adore, who for me is an epitome of incorruptibility, an epitome of order, an epitome of lawfulness.

“This is the man whom for him that is what Nigeria should be all about. I think I owe him that respect to come and tell him what I have done and why I have decided to take the decision I took.”

Vanguard Nigeria News