President Goodluck Jonathan

Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party weekend warned the Action Congress of Nigeria in the state against trying to set President Goodluck Jonathan against the PDP governorship candidate in the July 14 election, Major General Charles Airhiavbere (rtd),  on the basis of his (Airhiavbere’s)  response to a question asked by one of the panelists on “Edo State Decides” Live programme on Africa Independent Television on Wednesday, June 20.

The party  said Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his ACN machinery were only being dazed by the rising profile and the growing acceptability by the Edo electorate of its governorship candidate in the forthcoming election.

Director of Publicity of the PDP, Mr. Okharedia Ihimekpen, who issued the warning, said   “For the avoidance of doubt in the minds of those who did not watch the programme in which Airhiavbere put up a sterling performance that surprised Oshiomhole and his men, the PDP candidate did not berate President Jonathan for travelling to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, on official assignment amid security challenges in some parts of the country.”

Ihimekpen said “Those who watched the programme would know that Airhiavbere was deft in balancing his propositions while responding to the question,” stressing  that “Airhiavbere, as a preamble to answering the question, had put on record the decision of President Jonathan to declare a three-day mourning for the victims of the June 3  Dana aircraft crash in Lagos.”

He maintained that the PDP candidate had also underscored the fact that the crash and the security challenges happened back-to-back and had pointed out that where an official trip became inevitable, the vice president was constitutionally enabled to carry on with state duties.

Ihimekpen said: “The fact that Airhiavbere said he, as a state governor, would not travel, should not be construed to mean that the president should not have traveled nor did it mean that he did not support the president’s decision to travel to Brazil.”