The former Governor of Edo State and immediate past Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, has said that he will not fold his hands and watch Governor Godwin Obaseki and the PDP violently rig the forthcoming elections scheduled to hold next month.

Governor Obaseki had on Sunday condemned the July 25th display of thugs during his visit to the palace of Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin. He also said that he wouldn’t condone any disruptive acts of people bent on causing chaos.

In his response in a TV chat on Arise News, Oshiomhole stated his reasons for choosing to support Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, instead of the man he brought, adding that he was aware of his antics and will make sure he replies “violence with violence.”
Reacting to Obaseki’s threat, Oshiomhole said: ‘’if they want violence, we will give them violence.’’

Oshiomhole said he regrets working for and with Obaseki back in 2016, without even asking for his certificate, and that he decided to antagonize him because the governor has not met the expectations of Edo people, abandoned the development plan of the state, wrote a petition to the President to get Dr Pius Odubu dropped as NDDC chairman; as well as a commissioner of the NDDC from Edo, making the state to lose two positions in the commission.

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC.

He however said that he was fed wrong information about APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in 2016, and that he will not steal because he has not been a governor before.

In his response to Oshiomhole, the Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, challenged him to tell Nigerians the truth about the circumstances that led to his removal as APC chairman.

“Contrary to the narrative being advanced by the sacked national chairman that he was a victim of power play, Nigerians who have followed the events that led to Oshiomhole’s ouster closely, can attest to the fact that he was a victim of his own indiscretion and unholy machinations. In fact, in Edo State, Oshiomhole was the powerful force that millions of Edo people fought against, so that the governor could breathe and deliver good governance to them.”

“In Edo State, Oshiomhole turned against Governor Obaseki when the governor failed to yield to his subservience and his grand plot to rule by proxy. He literally invaded the Edo APC and set up parallel structures to hijack it. His predecessor, Chief Odigie-Oyegun allowed the state’s structure of the APC to carry out its activities without any interference. To Oshiomhole’s immoderation, Edo State is today a PDP state and we are free from his inanities.’’