The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on accused the Edo state Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki of mobilizing thugs to attack him over the weekend during the convocation of Edo University, Iyamho.
At a news briefing in his Abuja residence, Oshiomhole who pointedly told the governor go discipline his deputy, Comrade Philip Shuaibu, said Edo state does not need thugs in its politics and governance architecture.
He denied sponsoring attacks on guests who he had invited for lunch, saying it was unthinkable that he would attack his own guests.
“I decided that I should use this medium to speak to the unfortunate incident that happened in my community yesterday (Saturday) after the convocation ceremony at the Edo University.
“Like I already directed my press secretary to do on Saturday, obviously it was my decision to invite the Chancellor and his entourage including His Royal Majesties, Oba Akiolu, Oba Otudeko and other dignitaries.
“I personally invited them to join me for lunch which they graciously accepted and so it is unthinkable that I will invite people for lunch and I will make arrangements to disrupt or prevent my guests from coming to my house. So, any suggestion that I had an idea of what happened, nothing can be farther from the truth.
“When I discovered that something had gone wrong, I went to the gate and by then they had gone. I tried to speak with the governor. I called him, the phone rang out but at least I was able to speak with the Chancellor and his wife and I am happy that they fully understood.
“However, this whole thing was unfortunate because it was organized by the state government. By Thursday evening, and you can crosscheck with the IGP, I had information that the Deputy Governor asked some people to organize 1, 000 people to the university community.
“The whole idea was for them to boo me and celebrate it in the media that the Comrade-Chairman was booed in his own community. The CBN Governor who delivered the convocation lecture was also a witness.
“The CBN governor was not invited to address a rally, he was invited to deliver a convocation lecture and he wasn’t going to talk to those thugs who were wearing all kinds of inscriptions. They didn’t come for a political rally.
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“I conveyed the message to the IGP to prevent thugs being imported to the place by the deputy governor. Some few minutes later the governor himself arrived and Mr. Emefiele went to him and said to him, ‘what are these people doing here?’
He said Mr. Governor, if those people were there, he wasn’t going to deliver the convocation lecture because he didn’t come to do politics, he just came to perform a normal intellectual activity which was the convocation lecture.
The governor promised to get the people out of the university. You can imagine, it is easier to mobilize thugs into a place but it is far more difficult to demobilize them. So, we had to meander into the auditorium where the lecture was to be delivered and of course, you could hear all sorts of slogans and counter slogans.
“This was exactly what they had planned and the whole idea was they would have their cameras waiting. As I step out, people will be booing me and the media will report that Oshiomhole booed when he attended the convocation ceremony. That was the whole idea”, he said.
Oshiomhole who asked the governor to rein in his deputy, said as a 2-time governor of the state, he can never govern the state again, wondering why the series of attacks on him.
The APC National Chairman also disclosed that he has no issue with the governor, explaining how he had done his best in reconciling Mr Obaseki with aggrieved stakeholders in the state.
Meanwhile, Governor Obaseki has condemned the attack on him, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Chancellor of the Edo University, Iyahmo, Dr. Aderemi Makanjuola and other guests at the residence of former Governor of the State and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, the governor took exception to the resort to violence, noting that it was shameful for such an attack to take place at the residence of the National Chairman of the ruling party in the state and at the national level.
Describing the attack as an unfortunate incident, he said, “It is very unfortunate that we can’t feel safe in the house of our National Chairman. I am not sure that if I visit the Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that they will attack me the way they did in the house of the APC National Chairman.”
“It is unfortunate that things have degenerated to this extent. But we will continue to sue for peace. We cannot afford to lose the gains of the last three years. We will continue to pursue peace,” he added.
END
