‘Obaseki/Oshiomhole’s rift, not in Edo APC’s interest’

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Special Adviser on Political Matters Chief Osaro Idah, in this interview with Southsouth Bureau Chief BISI OLANIYI, speaks on the governor’s second term ambition and preparations for the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in the Southsouth state.

Is a truce still possible between the two APC rival camps in Edo before the primary?

The last time I spoke with both of them was during last year’s Sallah, when we went to Comrade Oshiomhole’s Iyamho hometown in Etsako West LGA of Edo state to pay him Sallah homage. Since then, I have not spoken with the national chairman of APC, while Governor Obaseki has not told me the reason for their differences. So, I cannot infer.

Well-meaning Nigerians are speaking with them (Oshiomhole and Obaseki) and I pray that both of them will find a common ground very soon. Whether some people like it or not, Comrade Oshiomhole remains our father. We will be so glad to have a happy home, once again. So that we can still flow as father and children.

My former boss, His Excellency Lucky Igbinedion, who appointed me when he was Edo governor, as the General Manager of Bendel Brewery Limited, Benin City, gave me a piece of advice a long time ago. When I had a brouhaha with a certain leader of the party, and I was fighting the man with all my might. Me, a small man, fighting a giant. Even my uncle, who was a leader in PDP, we had our differences.

One day, the then Governor Igbinedion called me and he advised me that in life, never fight to the finish, but to always leave a window for reconciliation. I took the advice to heart and it is one of the principles that influence my thoughts in life. Chief Lucky Igbinedion’s wise counsel has greatly helped me.

In spite of the face-off between Comrade Oshiomhole and Governor Obaseki, I still see a window of reconciliation.

What is your take on the decision of National Working Committee (NWC) of APC to adopt direct mode of governorship primary election in Edo State on June 22, 2020?

It is not possible for the members of National Working Committee (NWC) of APC to make such declaration, because it is not within their rights. The Constitution of APC is very clear on who has the right to do so. The party at the state level has the right to determine the mode of governorship primary election it prefers, which is subject to the last meeting (in 2018) of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of APC in Abuja, where the instruction was approved. Since then, nothing has been said by NEC of the party. So, nothing has changed.

The NWC of APC met and recommended to NEC for approval in 2018. Since then, NEC has not met to change the decision. Members of NWC cannot on their own make an order that is compelling. To take such a crucial decision, members of NEC must meet. To change the party’s national chairman and other vital decisions, there must be a convention, which is the highest authority.

Last year, when the governorship election in Kogi State took place, it was Kogi APC that took the decision on indirect primary. So, what has changed?

Edo State Executive Committee (SEC) of APC has done the right thing, by opting for indirect governorship primary election. Governor Obaseki is not scared of direct primary election, because he will win fair and square, but we want the right process to be followed and the right thing to be done. We do not want to expand anybody’s ego. We want the extant law to be obeyed.

We have social media governorship aspirants in Edo state, who are making noise to entertain their friends. Our concern is that the rule must be followed. NWC of APC cannot dictate to Edo APC on the mode of governorship primary election to use.

In this period of COVID-19, how will you put thousands of people in a place for direct governorship primary election? It is supposed to be a friendly exercise.

Are you in support of direct, indirect or consensus mode of picking the governorship candidate of APC in Edo State?

Constitution of APC supports direct and indirect modes for primary election. We are saying in Edo state APC, because we have the right to choose as a party and in view of the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, we want indirect governorship primary election on June 22, 2020.

How will you react to the allegations by pro-Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s Edo State APC, in a letter signed by the Secretary, Lawrence Okah, and addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, that Governor Godwin Obaseki is planning to manipulate and inflate the COVID-19 positive figures, in order to impose total lockdown in Edo State during the governorship primary election of the governing party, for being afraid of the direct primary election?

The allegations were levelled out of ignorance, lack of deep thought and carelessness in playing politics. The state does not announce COVID-19 cases. It is purely the business of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19. The implication of the allegations is that the integrity of NCDC and PTF is being questioned.

Okah and his co-travellers ought to be invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to prove the weighty allegations, because no sane person or government will play politics to that level.

NCDC and PTF on COVID-19 should also deeply probe the allegations and if found to be true, all the people found culpable should appear in court. In the state, only the governor and the deputy governor have immunity against prosecution while in office. If the allegations are found to be untrue, Okah and his allies should be prosecuted, in order to stop their dangerous politics and falsehood.

It is not everything that you play politics with, because it affects the lives of many people. If the allegations go out of Nigeria, it imputes on the integrity of Nigeria, which will indicate that we are playing pranks with the deadly coronavirus pandemic and that we are not serious people.

You earlier stated that Edo State APC would decide on the mode of governorship primary. Which of the two factions would take the decision, with Col. David Imuse (rtd.) and Anselm Ojezua as Chairmen of the party?

I am not aware of two factions in Edo state APC. The state secretariat of the party is on Airport Road in Benin City, with Barr. Anselm Ojezua as the authentic and duly-elected Chairman. When you say a party, you should be referring to the chairman and other members of the executive that were elected at the state congress of APC, not any other group.

I know of a cultural group, called Edo People’s Movement (EPM).

Are you not aware that the Edo State APC faction that you called a cultural group/EPM is the one being recognised by the national leadership of your party?

I am not aware of the recognition of EPM’s cultural group by leaders of APC at the national level. The EPM members are political pretenders. Are the EPM members registered as APC?

During a recent visit of APC leaders nationwide to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja, led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Col. David Imuse (rtd.) was with the team and he was recognised as Edo State Chairman of APC. Are you also not aware?

Maybe the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, went on a private visit to President Muhammadu Buhari. Can’t he visit the President privately? Maybe when the excited Comrade Oshiomhole was going to visit President Buhari in Abuja, he decided to go with some of his friends, not the duly-elected chairman of APC in Edo state, just for Nigerians and other people worldwide to know that he is very close to the President.

What of if the invitation of Col. David Imuse (rtd.) to Abuja as Edo State APC Chairman was based on the suspension of Barr. Anselm Ojezua and other members of his executive?

They cannot suspend Edo state APC’s chairman and members of his executive just like that. Can Comrade Oshiomhole be suspended as the national chairman of APC by two or three members of his executive? Do not forget that they (Col. David Imuse (rtd.) and others) are in court for contempt.

The weighty letter they sent to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on COVID-19, was signed by the secretary, Lawrence Okah. Does the secretary have the right to sign the letter, when the cultural group has a chairman? It is just because the so-called chairman of EPM knew that it would affect him in his contempt case in court.

So, the EPM chairman refused to sign the letter containing weighty allegations against the focused and performing Governor Godwin Obaseki, which are tissue of lies. If the EPM chairman had signed the letter, it would have added value to the suit instituted by Barr. Anselm Ojezua. The EPM chairman is a pretender. What kind of chairman is that? Is that how to become a chairman?

Some allies of Governor Obaseki are insisting that Edo APC does not have register of its members to conduct direct primary. What is your reaction?

The only time we pretended to have a register of the party was when APC was formed, when we transited from Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to APC and it was not even properly done. Then, I was the interim chairman of the party in Edo state. We just assumed that the members of ACN moved with us to APC.

The last registration of party members was done in the era of ACN. So, we do not have proper register of APC members throughout the country. People have died, some have travelled out of Nigeria and some have left APC. We never bothered to have new register, while APC’s constitution says that there must be update of members’ register every three or six months. Have we ever done that? It is a lazy thing across the country.

Where are they going to get the register from, for direct governorship primary? Where will they get register of members within three weeks to conduct direct primary? Will they go and pack market women to come and vote during the party’s primary election?

Why are you comfortable with indirect governorship primary election, if Governor Godwin Obaseki is indeed popular across the three senatorial districts of Edo State, as you earlier stated?

Governor Obaseki is very popular in Edo state and beyond, and he has performed excellently. So, he is not afraid of direct primary election, but the right thing must be done.

INEC has the records of the delegates for the indirect primary election, which will make the election very easy. Participants in the indirect primary election will include ward, local government, state and national officials of APC and the statutory delegates.

Members of the other faction of APC in Edo State are insisting that Governor Obaseki is no longer in good terms with most leaders of the party who supported him in 2016, thereby making him to be scared of the direct governorship primary election. How do you react to this?

I am insisting that Edo state APC has no faction. Governor Obaseki and his teeming supporters across the 18 LGAs of Edo state are not scared of direct governorship primary election. We are still going to meet Edo people face to face during the September 19 general election, which Governor Obaseki will win and to continue in office beyond November 12, 2020. What we are saying is that the rule of law must prevail, not the rule of one man. APC’s constitution is supreme. Let us operate the constitution, because we do not know who will come tomorrow. If we allow it now, tomorrow we may be victims.

If they want Edo governor to go for direct primary election, they must first give us the register of members of the party in the state.

Many members of NWC of APC did not attend the meeting in Abuja, where the decision was taken to use direct mode for the governorship primary election in Edo state.