By Lucky Isibor,
Leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State have suspended the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, his deputy governor, Philip Shaibu and the Secretary to the state Government, Osarodion Ogie for alleged anti party activities.
A chieftain of the party, Hon. Patrick Ikharia stated this while briefing journalists in Benin City Wednesday.
Ikhariale briefed journalists after an enlarged meeting of Edo State APC executive and stakeholders held at the residence of General Charles Airiavbere, another chieftain of the party.
Also speaking after the meeting, former APC Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Hon. Samson Osagie said the stakeholders suspended the trio because the governor presided over the affairs of Edo State with deceit and hatred for members of his party.
Samson Osagie accused the governor of doling out three billion naira to the opposition party for his reelection and wondered what anti party activity could be more than that adding that while he has increased his security vote to a whooping sum of six billion naira annually, he’s branding party chieftains as hungry and greedy politicians.
“We suspended him and we have no apologies for that because he has presided over our state with so much detest, with so much deceit and with so much hatred for members of his party.
“He continued to use the instrumentality of the state to throw up propaganda that we’re hungry politicians, that we are greedy people. This is a man who has increased his security vote to six billion naira per annum at the rate of five hundred million naira a month.
While accusing the governor of inability to showcase land mark projects after three years in office, Osagie pointed out that members and stakeholders of the party cannot fold their hands while the party is being taken to the slaughter.
According to him, “we cannot fold our hands and watch our party being rail-roaded to the precipice by a Governor whose ambition is to cling on to power in order to decimate the people he claim to be governing.
“He has not commissioned any worth while project and am challenging him, to tell us, other than the renovation of buildings that were put up by previous administrations, you tell me what is the project? The roads he claim to be executing washes away after few weeks.
“A Governor who is seeking reelection could not commission major projects three years after? In any case we have it on good authority that he has paid the opposition party the sum of three billion naira for his reelection. Do you need any other definition of anti party activity,” Osagie queried.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Governor failed as calls put across to the Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Communication and Strategy, Crusoe Osagie were not answered. But however, previous statements issued by the Governor’s spokesman says the Governor has performed in the areas of provision of infrastructure, job creation, ongoing construction of industrial park, Gele Gele sea port, women and youth empowerment and far reaching reforms in the education sector known as ‘Edo Best’ which earned the Governor the Nigeria Union of Teachers NUT, best Governor award last October.
