Following the disqualification of Governor Godwin Obaseki from the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress, APC, slated for June 22, it was gathered that all is now set for the governor to join the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Obaseki was on Friday disqualified by the screening committee put in place by the APC to screen aspirants for the primaries on account of alleged discrepancies in his certificates.
A top official of the PDP who does not want his name in print told our correspondent that the governor indeed met with chieftains of the party in the past few days and has resolved to join the PDP.
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According to him, “the first thing would be for him to go to his ward, register and obtain his party membership card. We will take it from there.”
Ask to comment on an online report that ex-President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan brokered a deal for Obaseki to seek his second term in office on the platform of the PDP, as far back as February this year; the source dismissed same, saying “no deal is in place yet but we can’t rule anything out.”
He continued, “We have not done our primary election to elect the governorship candidate yet. What is paramount now is for His Excellency to join the party at his ward. Once this is done, he would let both the state chapter of the party and the national leadership aware of his intentions.
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“And because we don’t have a candidate yet, the governor can actually be our flag bearer, if that is what he wants. He would have to interact with those who have already indicated an interest in the race to see how best he can carry them along.
“We will continue to insist that the right thing should be done. And we will continue to tell Nigerians that APC is a rally of people with no ideology. Today, the man they gave a clean bill of health in 2016 has suddenly become someone to be destroyed at all cost. That is APC for you,” he added.
Obaseki is relying on the support of a good number of party loyalists including chairmen of the 18 local government areas, with many of them tipped to jump in the PDP ship with him in the weeks ahead.
Although the state Edo state chairman of APC, Anslem Ojezua insists Obaseki would contest and “win” the September 19 election, it is almost certain that the governor is fated to run on another party’s platform.
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His predecessor in office and national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is backing another aspirant, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for the sole ticket ahead of the primaries.
Vanguard
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