Party structure firmly under gov’s control, says aide
Adedayo Akinwale ín Abuja
The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State deepened yesterday as the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, accused Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, of planning to create disaffection and crisis in the party and probably dump the party for another party.
But the Special Adviser to Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, has stated that the governor has the structure of APC firmly under his control, and has no plan to leave the party.
Oshiomhole and Obaseki had been having running battle over the governor’s second term ambition, which the national chairman was alleged to be against.
Oshiomhole also accused Edo State government of making frantic effort to use the statement of the Police Commissioner, Dan Mallam Muhammed, to cover up its evil plot that Oshiomhole was never attacked.
The party chairman who stated this in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Simon Ebegbulem, alleged that the police chief was lending himself as a tool in the hands of some desperate politicians.
He further alleged that before that incident on Saturday, the state government allegedly sponsored thugs that had been harassing, intimidating APC members across the 18 LGAs because the APC leaders refused to adopt his second term aspiration.
“And we have it on good authority that the governor intends to create disaffection and crisis in the state APC and probably dump the party for another party.”
“We are even more scared now that the governor is making every effort to coerce the National Chairman into giving him details of his movement in Edo State. Who knows what he is plotting again. But every evil plot against Oshiomhole will fail. He has not hurt anyone and no man except God can hurt.
Oshiomhole stressed that as much as he tried to refrain and restrain himself from joining issues with the police, he felt obligated to call the Commissioner out on his widely reported statement that he was not attacked.
The national chairman noted that the police had somewhat downplayed the very strong connection between himself and his home that was attacked.
“Is Edo CP lending himself as a tool in the hands of desperate politicians? I don’t want to believe that the Edo State Police Commissioner, Dan Mallam Muhammed, is gratuitously lending himself as a tool in the hands of some desperate and misguided politicians in Edo State whose pastime is to malign the reputation and public image of the national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.”
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Osagie, has stated that Obaseki has the structure of the APC firmly under his control.
Osagie said the comments credited to the CPS to Oshiomhole were completely false.
According to him, “Governor Obaseki and the leaders and members of the APC have a cordial and robust working relationship. Obaseki is providing effective leadership for the party in the state and therefore, allegation that there is a plan to leave the party is totally false.”
“Presently, Governor Obaseki is the Vice Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), a forum of all the governors elected under the platform of the APC across the country. He commands tremendous respect within the party at the national level and has a fabulous working relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the leader of the APC.
“Why will the governor leave a place of certainty for uncertainty? Is it not clear from these verifiable facts that all these allegations are completely false? We urge all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard these quibbling as noise from irrelevant entities trying hard to gain political relevance,” Osagie explained.
