Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has fired back at his counterpart in Edo, Godwin Obaseki, describing him as a serial betrayer.
Obaseki had earlier in the day attacked Wike for insulting his deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, saying he should be called to order as PDP is not his personal property.
Wike, who spoke in Port Harcourt on Monday said former Governor Adams Oshiomhole was right after all about Obaseki.
He said with Obaseki’s action, Oshiomhole had been vindicated when he called Obaseki a betrayal, saying he regretted he never heeded the warning of Oshiomhole.
Wike tendered an unreserved apology to Oshiomhole for not believing him in the first instance about Obaseki’s betrayal.
In his words: “If you ask anybody or check the DNA of Obaseki, you will discover that he is a serial betrayer and an ungrateful person. I apologise to Oshiomhole who told us about Obaseki. You have been vindicated.
“Let me stand today to apologise to Adams Oshiomhole who has been vindicated by telling us that we will see the true colour, the insincerity, the ungratefulness of Governor Obaseki.
“We have voted for PDP since 1999 till now; ask Governor Obaseki if he has done anything for PDP (or) voted for PDP. The only election he voted was his election – where we gave him an umbrella.”
According to Wike, “I am not in the class of Obaseki, never! We are not the same, we can’t be the same. I was the DG of his campaign, I went there (to Edo) for three days. I stayed there without having my bath. I have never seen somebody like that in my life – a serial betrayer.”
He vowed to smoke Obaseki and his cohorts out, saying that this is not the Benin artifact that he was challenging the Oba, but that this is politics.
Wike told Obaseki that he had more stake in PDP than him, as he had fought for this party while challenging Obaseki to mention one thing that he had done for the PDP.
Earlier, in attacking Wike, Obaseki said “if Governor Wike was one who is wont to show respect and courtesy to his colleague-governors, he would have ordinarily reached out to me to express his concerns about the views made by my deputy governor, rather than embarking on this unwarranted public onslaught.
“My deputy governor was a former National President of the National Association of Nigerian Student (NANS) and his comment is representative of the essence of the nation’s youth population, who are inclined to openly speak up and question the status quo.
“If Governor Wike cannot understand and adequately respond to the style and character of the Nigerian youth, how can he aspire to lead them?
“His Excellency, Governor Wike should have taken a cue from how the National Chairman of our party, Sen. Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, responded to my deputy’s remarks, as a conscientious leader who can show empathy and consideration.”
Obaseki said the concerns expressed by his deputy governor bordered on pertinent issues affecting the PDP in Edo State, which since the September 19, 2020 elections, had been able to register over 500,000 members; “and till date, these new members have not been properly integrated into our party after two years.”
“More worrisome is the fact that old members of Edo PDP, who are open to inclusion and supportive of building a large party are being vilified and ostracized by a cabal purportedly led by Chief Dan Orbih, who is your perpetual guest in Port Harcourt and is remotely used to orchestrate the destabilization of the party in Edo State.
“It is necessary to recall at this point that a political solution gave rise to the emergence of Chief Dan Orbih first as Acting and then as Substantive National Vice Chairman, South-South, of our party, when Chief Emma Ogidi resigned that position to allow Chief Orbih to ascend.
“It is, therefore, curious why this type of political solution is no longer tenable to resolve the political impasse in Edo State PDP.
“We can categorically state that in the comments of the deputy governor, he at no point threatened the party as Governor Wike has alleged. Rather, it is Governor Wike, who has at different times, threatened the PDP.
“Undoubtedly, Governor Wike has contributed to the advancement of the party, just like others, since 1999.
“No one is against his desire to run for president, however, his ambition should not be embarked on in such a way that it would cause disruption at different levels, such as the PDP Governors’ Forum as well as different chapters of the party across the country.
“It clearly amounts to a delusion of grandeur, for any one man to nurse the idea that he owns or has more stake in the PDP and everyone should pander to him,” Obaseki stated.
Obaseki stated that while Wike was free to use his resources as he deemed fit in pursuit of his ambition, he should not attempt to cow, intimidate, cajole and threaten others into doing his bidding, saying that Edo State could not and will not be procured for anyone’s personal ambition.
He said what Nigeria needed now are strong democratic institutions and not strong men; “that is why we will join the great leaders of our party across the country to build PDP into a strong, large, and indomitable party that will win next year’s presidential election.
“Governor Wike and his collaborators headed by Chief Dan Orbih in Edo State will not succeed in destabilizing the PDP in Edo State as they did other states like Cross River just to secure delegates to actualize his alleged personal ambition to run for the presidency in 2023.”
Obaseki added: “In Edo, we don’t accept political bullies and overlords and historically, we have demonstrated our capacity to unshackle ourselves and dethrone bullies and highhanded leaders.
“I appeal to all well-meaning leaders of our great party to call Governor Wike to order, to desist from his current unguarded and disruptive tendencies. From all indications today, PDP is set to take over the leadership of Nigeria provided we can rein in the self interest of a few leaders to put the task of rescuing Nigeria above their ambitions.
