Following his disqualification by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Screening committee, Governor Godwin Obaseki, has suddenly become the beautiful bride of Edo State politics ahead of the September 2020 governorship election.
Courtesy of his present floating status, opposition political parties in the State are now falling over themselves in the race to woo the embattled governor into their folds.
Amid speculations that main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and others favour Obaseki on board their ships, the Action Democratic Party (ADP) on Saturday openly declared its willingness to welcome Governor Obaseki “with open arms’’ should he decide to dump the ruling APC.
National Publicity Secretary of the ADP, Mr Adelaja Adeoye, who dropped the hint, said the ADP operates an open-door policy and would gladly admit Governor Obaseki without any fuss.
Adeoye was reacting to Obaseki’s disqualification by the Screening Committee of the APC, which barred him from participating in the party’s primaries, scheduled for June 22.
He said as a thorough democratic party, the ADP would accord Obaseki every respect as a sitting governor.
The ADP chieftain, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, however said the governor would have to follow the party’s rules and abide by its principles should he decide to join and contest on ADP’s ticket.
“Yes, if Obaseki decides to join ADP today, the party will welcome him with open arms. The party runs an open-door policy. So we will gladly receive him.
“He is the sitting governor so we may give him some waivers and will accord him all the respect as the occupier of the number one office in the state.
“However, we will expect the governor to follow laid- down rules and abide by the principles of the party should he decide to join us to seek our ticket.
“We will also expect him to slug it out with governorship aspirants in the party to get the ticket. He will definitely enjoy some privileges as a sitting governor. We will accord him all the respect.”
With the ADP yet to conduct its governorship primaries, Adeoye said the window of opportunity was there for Obaseki to join and seek the party’s ticket, adding that the party would adopt the indirect mode of primaries to select its flag-bearer
On Obaseki’s disqualification by APC, Adeoye said it was a clear case of power play in the ruling party, even as he queried; “Is it not funny the same Obaseki that was APC’s bride four years ago has now been found unfit for re- election by the party?
“And, the aspirant they seem to favour was the same person they said destroyed the state some years ago.”
The ADP spokesman, who claimed that the PDP and APC were over-rated in Edo State, however boasted that ADP has a formidable structure and support, to win the governorship election in the South South state – (NAN)
