By Adedayo Akinwale
A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has said the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, and a chieftain of the party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, are invaluable in the achievements of the APC in the state and in the South-south region.
A faction of the party loyal to the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, had in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari called on the leaders of the party to rein in on Oshiomhole from destabilising the party and prevent a repeat of the Bayelsa State catastrophe of losing the state to the opposition due to the draconian style of Oshiomhole leadership.
The party leaders under the aegis of Concerned Edo State APC Stakeholders noted that Oshiomhole’s unholy romance with a group called Edo Peoples Movement (EPM) and preference for Ize-Iyamu as the EPM standard bearer in the state 2020 gubernatorial election was not only a mockery to the progressive ideology and guiding principle of the APC as a party but a travesty on President Buhari’s fight against corruption in Nigeria.
However, the faction loyal to Oshiomhole in a letter to Buhari which was jointly signed by Hon. Stanley Odidi, former chairman, Etsako East Local Government Area; Hon. Sam Oboh, former chairman, Esan North East Local Government Area, and Hon. Etinosa Ogbeiwi, former member, Edo State House of Assembly, insisted that the alleged signatories to the “letter of lies” are non-existent, adding that such was the mischief which could only be associated with dishonourable people who do not believe in the political ideals of openness and internal democracy upon which the APC is solidly built.
The letter read in part: “Sir we received with concern the news that some very sinister persons wrote to you with false identity, casting aspersions and making unfounded accusations on party leaders. The crux of the letter is the intention to malign the National Chairman of our great party, Oshiomhole, and a notable member of the party, Ize-Iyamu.
“The letter, which is laden with naked lies, is deliberately calculated to cast these two great personalities in bad light and bring them to disfavour before you. However, truth is always alive and can never be vanquished by lies. We crave your Excellency’s kind indulgence to debunk these lies, while setting the records straight.
“Ize-Iyamu, the personality who is the primary target of the said letter of lies, is not as falsely claimed by the faceless authors of the letter, a three-month-old member of our great party, the APC. On the contrary, Ize-Iyamu, more than being part and parcel of our great party from the very beginning, was in the inner circle of the great personalities instrumental in the formation of the party. He played vital roles, traveling far and wide in the mission to facilitate the amicable coming together of the three defunct parties that merged to form the APC in 2013.”
