[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ineteen leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State comprising past deputy governor’s, former speakers and former members of the National Assembly, among others, have vowed to unseat Governor Godwin Obaseki over alleged incompetence, mismanagement of about N350 billion revenue that has accrued to the state. The group, which is led by two former deputy governors of the state, Dr Pius Odubu and Luck Imasuen, vowed in a statement signed by the 19 leaders to remove the incumbent governor from office on account of alleged bad governance, embezzlement and improper handling of the present Coronavirus epidemic in the state.
They observed that rather than throwing tantrums at the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, and blame others for the problems facing the state, the governor should list what his administration has done with the N350 billion revenue that had accrued to the state in recent times
“Contrary to the resort to personalised attacks by Governor Obaseki on the APC national chairman who is not contesting any election, we are confronting Obaseki with evidence of bad governance, embezzlement of state funds, destruction of democratic culture, wicked demonisation of those on whose backs he rose to power and systematic destruction of APC that brought him to power,” they posited.
According to the leaders, there is no single project worthy of commissioning in the state as the governor moves towards the end of his tenure, adding that even in the current fight against COVID-19, the governor does not care about the sufferings of the people but was busy converting the opportunity for embezzlement, embarking on political campaigns under the guise of sensitisation campaigns against the Coronavirus.
They also dismissed allegation by Governor Obaseki that Oshiomhole participated in the mock governorship primary held in Benin, describing him as a serial liar for blaming Oshiomhole and the purported mock primary for the spike of COVID-19 cases in Edo State. They argued that there was no time in the state were members gathered or flouted the COVID-19 guidelines on gathering and social distancing as claimed by the Obaseki administration
“We vehemently deny any involvement of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in our activities. We also state emphatically that there was no crowded meeting of 20 persons or more by this body of APC leaders anywhere in Edo state in recent time. “We hereby challenge Governor Godwin Obaseki to prove his allegation of a crowded meeting of more than 50 persons by releasing a video of such event,” the APC leaders declared.
They described the attempt by the Obaseki administration to drag Oshiomhole’s name into the activities of APC members in Edo State as blackmail and disrespect to the national chairman, whom they said his excellent performance while in government remains the selling point for the party in the state. The leaders maintained that “till today, there is no lockdown in Edo State in order to avoid spending on palliatives. Yet, he moved markets to school premises in the entire state with a promise to fumigate the markets statewide,” a promise they claimed was never fulfilled till date.