By Lucky Isibor,
The Labour party candidate in the 19th September Edo State governorship election, Hon. Isaiah Osifo has questioned the propriety of the choice of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who is undergoing criminal trial for money laundering as the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC accusing the party of lacking in morality and taking Edo voters for granted.
The Labour candidate noted that the choice of Ize-Iyamu who is hopping in and out of the courts for criminal trials bothering on stealing and laundering of public funds as the governorship candidate of the APC is a disobedience of all rules of morality and a definition of a political party’s leadership that is not interested in morality.
Isaiah Osifo stated this Thursday, while addressing journalists in Benin City alongside the national secretary of Labour Party, Julius Abure Esq. and Comrade Oghalol K.S.E., the Edo State chairman of the party.
“The choice of Edo State APC gubernatorial candidate in the 2020 Edo governorship election is an operational definition of a party’s leadership that is not interested in morality. APC definition of their best among it’s gubernatorial aspirants and the choice of a candidate that is undergoing criminal trials on money laundering is far from good politics and morality. This can only be a decision of a leadership that is not conscientious and the intention ultimately is to take Edo voters for granted.
“This is dangerous to our collective moral fabric and civilisation as a society. Ask yourself whether it is not sickening and disgraceful for APC to have her Edo State governorship candidate to be hopping in and out of the courts on criminal trials bothering on public funds in a period leading to the decision of Edo State voters to elect a credible governor?
“We watched the court proceedings on July 7th, 2020 where the Judge ordered the Edo APC gubernatorial candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to appear in court on July 14th and rejected his oral application for a prolonged adjournment. Justice Garba stated that he will have no other option but order his arrest if he fails to appear on the said date. We asked ourselves, how can a political party be so insensitive to and disregard the good conscience of Edo people? Edo people are better than this and we are a people that are morally conscious,” Osifo said.
While tasking president Muhammadu Buhari on whether or not he’s in line with the choice of an APC candidate who’s on criminal trial for money laundering, Hon. Osifo wondered who is giving the APC leadership the Dutch courage to convince their members to believe that the federal government is wasting time and tax payers’ money in the prosecution of the case against their governorship candidate, and dared former Governor Oshiomhole to defend the choice adding that the rules in all responsible public service including the rules in Nigeria public service requires public servants undergoing criminal prosecution to step aside which is called interdiction in the civil service, until the final resolution of the matter and questioned the intention of the party in choosing a candidate who is disabled by reason of on going criminal prosecution.
“The APC leadership had convinced their members to believe that the federal government is wasting time and tax payer’s money in the prosecution of the case against Edo State APC governorship candidate. We think this is an insult on the anti-corruption policy of the federal government under the leadership of President Buhari.
“We do not expect President Muhammadu Buhari to be in line with this and we do not expect Edo State former Governor Adams Oshiomhole to defend this.”
