Obaseki Reveals “the Bottom Line” Of His Quarrel With Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has mentioned what he considers as “the bottom line” of his quarrel with Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The protracted quarrel between the two has the potential to thwart the governor’s second term ambition and even prevent the APC from winning the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state.

“I do not have a rift with him (Oshiomhole) as a person. I just do not agree with how some decision is taken, as it relates to the party. It is not in the interest of our party,” Mr Obaseki said in an interview with Channels TV, on Sunday

Mr Obaseki said Mr Oshiomhole has been a disruption to the decision-making process of the APC in Edo state.

“Our quarrel has been that we are doing things that are outside the constitution of our party. The logic of democracy is that it’s the people that should drive democracy. Democracy should be built bottom-up, and not top-down. Democracy should start from the base,” the governor said.

“So in the last four years, we in Edo have restructured our party, we have built from the unit, through the wards, through the local government (areas), and to the state.

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“And the executive at every level are in harmony. Our party is very strong in the state and the quarrel is that the party is not allowed to make its decisions from the base, decisions are imposed from the top, and that’s not auguring well; it’s creating disharmony within the system.”

Mr Obaseki said in the Channels TV interview that he has not met nor spoken with the APC national chairman “recently”.

Mr Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, helped Mr Obaseki to succeed him as governor in 2016, against all the odds. The two fell apart politically shortly after Mr Obaseki assumed office.

With his position as the APC national chairman, Mr Oshiomhole is the biggest obstacle to Mr Obaseki’s second term ambition.