How I Tried To Reconcile Obaseki With Aggrieved APC Leaders – Oshiomhole

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has recalled numerous occasisions he tried to reconcile Governor Godwin Obaseki with aggrieved leaders of the party in Edo State.

Naija News reports that during an interview on television, the APC chairman rubbished reports that he was playing godfather in Edo state.

Oshiomhole said, “As part of my efforts to resolve the problems in Edo State, there was a time the governor told me he would not have anything to do with Charles Idahosa because he lost his booth during his own governorship election; but it was here in this my living room that I invited Idahosa and he did not know the governor was coming, I invited the governor he did not know Idahosa was coming.

“When the governor entered the room, Idahosa sat and said he was not going to have a handshake with him and used a language for me that was derogatory. I said ‘No, Charles. You cannot talk like that. This is the governor and you must respect him.’ And I said, ‘Governor, please whatever Charles has done that you are not happy about, we have won, put them behind you.’ I said in this business if you didn’t work with people because of their electoral value, sometimes you would work with them because of their nuisance value. So you would not gain by saying you wouldn’t work with this one or this one.”

The former Edo state governor also recalled that he tried reconciling Rev Egharevba and Prince Eweka with Obaseki.

He described as “bullshit” insinuations that he is trying to control the running of Obaseki’s administration.

“My own embarrassment is when they say Oshiomhole wants to be like a godfather. If I wanted to be, I will be nominating commissioners. I only persuaded him to accept one commissioner from me, only one and I gave my reasons. He was a founding member of my campaign organisation in 2006, Mika. Other than Mika, I did not nominate any commissioner; I did not nominate any special adviser, special assistant because for me these are governance issues. So where is the godfather from?” Oshiomhole asked.