Edo 2020: We Don’t Stuff Dollars – Obaseki Roasts Ganduje

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo has berated the governor of Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, over comments on his performance.

Speaking at the presidential villa in Abuja on Friday, Ganduje, who is chairman of the APC national campaign council, stated that Obaseki has failed woefully.

Speaking further, he said that the governor is rather a liability to his new political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), than an asset, insisting that having Obaseki as the opponent candidate is a blessing to the APC.

“Your question is that we are contesting against a serving governor in Edo State. Yes, that is a very important question at this material time. It could have been a big problem if the governor performs well while governing his state.

“He could have been an asset to PDP. But I assure you that governor is a liability. In fact, it’s even better for us that we are contesting against a serving governor who failed woefully. He failed woefully in the area of human development.”

Reacting in a statement through his spokesperson, Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki said Ganduje is in no position to assess his performance because of the “baggage of the viral video of him stuffing dollars collected from contractors”.

He said: “The comment by Governor Ganduje on the performance of Governor Obaseki in office is at best laughable.

“It is also disgraceful because the APC has apparently misconstrued the meaning of performance because it is verifiable that Governor Obaseki’s unprecedented performance across different sectors of the state is what has endeared him to Edo people.

“No amount of lame talk from the APC and their campaign handlers can erase these projects which litter the nooks and crannies of Edo State.

“Ganduje is in no position to assess Governor Obaseki or any other governor for that matter because he has a baggage hanging on his neck, which he needs to clear. It is important to put some of the government’s projects in perspective so that the public can judge.

“The Obaseki-led government through different memoranda of understanding (MoU) have completed or is at the verge of completing the following projects: the 6000bpd Edo Modular Refinery in Ologbo, Benin City; 55MW Ossiomo Independent Power Plant, in Ologbo, Benin City; the 1451-unit Emotan Garden Estate; strengthened broadband infrastructure with 400km fibre optic cables laid by Main One, among others.”

Naija News recalls that the publisher, Jaafar Jaafar of Daily Nigerian Newspaper, had published videos in 2018 showing Ganduje allegedly collecting kickbacks from contractors handling projects in the state.

Governor Ganduje had approached the court to stop further publishing of the video by Jaafar and probe by the Kano State House of Assembly.