THE FIGHT IS OVER! Obaseki Extends Hand Of Fellowship To Oshiomole, Invites Ize-Iyamu To Join State's Administration

Victorious Governor Godwin Obaseki, says his fight with leaders and members of the opposition APC is over.

He made the declaration on Tuesday while receiving his certificate of return at the INEC office in Aduwawa, Benin City.

He went ahead to invite his closest contender and flagbearer of the APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and other members to join him in the administration of the state.

“I am using this opportunity to extend a hand of fellowship to my brother Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and other colleagues in the APC to join us and work with us so that we can move Edo forward.

“On a specific note, I want to use this opportunity to call on the former Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole that the fight is over and he should come and join in building the house where he was part of laying the foundation. We have no malice. The only thing we disagree on is the approach in moving Edo State forward,” he said.

Obaseki adds that both members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and APC are one family and cooperation is needed in moving Edo State forward.

“To our friends and brothers on the other side of the divide, we are one family in the pursuit to provide services and public goods for our citizens.

“Our citizens have decided that for now, they trust us more to provide the leadership. It does not mean that they do not have a role to play. It does not mean that they are not part of the family,” the governor stressed.

The electoral body had earlier issued certificates of return to Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his deputy, Phillip Shaibu at the INEC office in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

The National Commissioner, INEC in charge of Edo, Rivers, and Bayelsa, Mrs May Agbmuche-Mbu made the presentation and commended stakeholders including the security agencies for their role in the smooth conduct of the poll.

SCOOPER recalls that Obaseki early on Tuesday said Adams Oshiomhole and Bola Tinubu are a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy and would destroye it in a wink if their wings are not clipped.

Obaseki's feud with Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), heightened in the build-up to the Edo governorship election.

Oshiomhole, who was instrumental in Obaseki’s victory in 2016, became his antagonist.

The former APC national chairman threw his weight behind Osagie Ize-Iyamu, his party’s candidate, who was Obaseki’s major rival in 2016.

A few days to the election, Tinubu, national leader of the APC, did a TV broadcast asking the people of Edo to vote out Obaseki on the grounds that he is a dictator.

But Obaseki won the poll, beating Ize-Iyamu with a clear margin of 84,336 votes.

Speaking in an interview granted ARISE TV, Obaseki said, “The challenge with people like Oshiomhole and Ahmed Tinubu is that they if they do not accept and change their style and attitude, they pose a big danger to our democracy because they are extra-constitutional players.”

“They constituted themselves into what they say they are without any constitutional responsibilities and try to overlord themselves over people who have constitutional authority and if we allow them to continue it will destroy our democracy.”

Obaseki also said his statement was personal, but “it is about their role in our democracy”.

Meanwhile, Obaseki on Monday praised the Edo people for ensuring his victory at the state governorship election.

He noted that his reelection had put an end to godfatherism and ensured that ‘the lions and tigers’ were permanently caged in the zoo.

Obaseki said this while speaking to party supporters at the Museum Ground, Kings square in Benin City after a victory road show across various streets in the metropolis.

Obaseki said, “The message of Saturday’s governorship election for this government is to go and work for Edo people. It is clear and Edo people have spoken that we should work for them and transform the state.