Follow Us on Google
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki’s, long awaited formal defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) holds today at the party’s Secretariat in Benin.
Party leaders and supporters had thronged the secretariat expecting the governor’s arrival when information came that the event had been shifted.
South South National Vice Chairman of the PDP, Emmanuel Ogidi, also confirmed that the party’s governorship primary originally scheduled for today and tomorrow, have been shifted to Tuesday, June 23.
Officials of the PDP had been engaged in complex negotiations with Obaseki and top officials of his government ahead of his defection in the last few days.
Details and terms of the negotiations could not be ascertained at press time, yesterday.
A top party source told Daily Sun that PDP leadership in a bid to ensure harmony within its fold in the run-up to the September 19 governorship election is making concerted efforts to pacify party leaders, especially the three aspirants that obtained nomination forms for the governorship primary.
Ken Imasuagbon, Gideon Ikhine and Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama had obtained the the nomination forms for the governorship primary
The opposition party, in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the postponement is “predicated on exigencies of party activities.
However, the source said the postponement is to enable the PDP leadership and Governor Obaseki complete negotiations with party leaders, especially those opposed to its entrance into the opposition party.
The source said though Edo PDP leaders have conceded that Obaseki can contest the governorship on its platform with his current deputy, Philip Shaibu, they were yet to reach a conclusion on how to compensate interests that will be affected by Obaseki’s candidature, especially the governorship aspirants.
He added that was why it became imperative that the primary be postponed to give more room for both the governor and the PDP leaders to tidy up all outstanding issues to avoid a backlash.
The PDP national leadership had, in their talks with Obaseki in Abuja, implored him to reach out directly to aggrieved party leaders and explore the possibility of the other governorship aspirants withdrawing from the contest.
Regardless, Imasuagbon told Daily Sun in a telephone interview, yesterday, that the party should forget the idea of him withdrawing from the contest because of Obaseki.
“Obaseki should step down step down for me. I heartily welcome him to the party. The umbrella is big enough to accommodate all of us. But, if it is about me stepping down, he should forget it. He should be the one to step down for me.”
When asked whether the party or Obaseki has reached out to him, Imasuagbon said: “I have not seen anybody. There is no talk about it. The talk is the delegates talk. That is why our country is the way it is.”
Efforts to reach Ogbeide-Ihama and Ikhine were unsuccessful as the time of filing this report.
