BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN—A Founding member of  Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, Elder Sunny Uyigue, has narrated how the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, allegedly begged prominent Bini chiefs and politicians to be allowed to join PDP in 1998.

He said: “I laughed when  I read newspaper reports in Abuja quoting PDP as  saying that Adams Oshiomhole begged to join PDP in 2007 and 2012 but that he was denied membership. Some of us, who were the original leaders of  PDP, decided to leave the party due to some of these lies and we knew the party was going to die in the state. Anenih practically begged me in my sitting room to be allowed to join PDP in 1998.

“When Anenih was chased out of Jerry Gana’s house in 1998, before G34 metamorphosed to PDP, he had an issue with the late Chief Bola Ige who chased him away. The man came to my house in Benin and I paved way for him to join PDP, when prominent chiefs and politicians held a meeting and warned every Bini politician not to associate with him politically.

“He came to my house in Benin with a long list of the people holding such meetings and in his presence,  I phoned some of the people mentioned in the list. I pleaded with them to allow him join us and that paved the way for him to join PDP in my house. But he later started playing god and that led to the destruction of PDP in Edo State.

“Mr. Oliseh Metuh, the PDP Publicity Secretary, was wrong to have said that Oshiomhole begged to join PDP even in 2012. How can a man, who has uprooted PDP with his good work now want to beg to join  PDP in order to come back for a second term? He does not need any body to be re-elected and the same thing happened when he came for his first term. He got the ticker because of his pedigree and nothing else.”