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Tag: Ize-Iyamu

  • Alleged corruption: Buhari did no wrong endorsing Ize-Iyamu, Presidency slams PDP

    Alleged corruption: Buhari did no wrong endorsing Ize-Iyamu, Presidency slams PDP

    The Presidency has said the main opposition party the, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), lacks the moral right to query President Muhmmadu Buhari’s endorsement of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) candidate in the Edo State governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

    The Presidency’s reaction trailed the PDP’s comments on and condemnation of President Buhari’s endorsement of Ize-Iyamu on Friday, casting aspersions on the person of the ruling party’s candidate and querying the President’s avowed fight against corruption in the country.

    In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency noted that it was improper for a party, allegedly peopled by persons with running and pending graft court cases to be raising questions on the choice of another party. According to the statement, before the PDP could be taken seriously and its admonisions taken seriously, it would first need to answer questions on corruption allegations plastered over its 16 years of rule, as well as disown some of its governors with suspended graft court trials.

    “The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which has been struggling to clear its name from alleged deals with the underworld in Dubai and the United States has, to our surprise, found the voice to attack the anti-corruption war of the Muhammadu Buhari administration following the President’s endorsement of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the All Progressives Congress, APC’s dashing candidate for the governorship election in Edo State. Forgetting its own history and antecedents, the PDP said in a garrulous statement that ‘the President ought to have been aware that the Candidate is standing trial for corruption’, and then went on rant against the government’s war against corruption, alleging its failure.

    “Let PDP first withdraw the governorship nominations it gave to Ahmadu Fintiri and Bala Mohammed of Adamawa and Bauchi States respectively, before it opens its mouth and talk on the efforts of this administration in fighting corruption. Or else, it should shut its mouth forever and leave us to do what it dares not attempt. Both PDP governors were actually on bail from criminal trial on several counts of fraud and embezzlement. Justice A. R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, July 1, 2016 granted bail to the former acting governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. He was charged on June 30, 2016 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside his company, Mayim Construction and Properties Limited on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N2.9 billion.

    “In the case of Bala Mohammed, the PDP Governor of Bauchi State, the EFCC, on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, arraigned the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, before Justice A. M. Talba of the Federal Capital Territory, High Court sitting in Gudu, Abuja, on a six-count charge bordering on abuse of office, false declaration of assets and fraud to the tune of N864 million. Bala, while in office as minister, allegedly received N550 million as bribe from Aso Savings and Loans Limited with respect to some properties in the Asokoro area of Abuja.

    “He is said to have corruptly abused his position as Board chairman of Aso Savings by allocating four numbers fully detached duplexes and 11 numbers semi-detached duplexes valued at N314 million through the Presidential Taskforce on Sale of Government Houses, to himself. The former minister is also accused of making false declaration of his assets. Pastor Ize-Iyamu is being prosecuted by the EFCC alongside Lucky Imasuen, former deputy governor of Edo State, Chief Dan Orbih, PDP Chairman in Edo State and other leaders of the party in the state, Tony Aziegbemi and Efe Erimuoghae. Under the country‘s laws, only the courts can convict. A suspect remains a suspect until conviction. But, if in the view of the PDP, a suspect is guilty as charged, then they must show examples by withdrawing the nomination of their governors and the party’s numerous Senators and other legislators standing trial in various courts of the country,” the statement said.

    Speaking on the resolve of President Buhari and his administration to clear out the nation’s Augean stables of corruption, it said the commitment with which the President had pursued corruption cases traced to the 16 years of the PDP administration and those so far discovered within his own administration had placed him beyond any reproach emanating from the PDP “A government that sees corruption in the past administration and sees corruption in its own administration, and fights it with equal gusto, cannot be placed on the same scale with those who, by their words and deeds said corruption is a way of life and Nigerians should learn to live with it,” he said.

  • Edo 2020: Oshiomhole, calm down, let Ize-Iyamu market himself – DG, APC Govs forum

    Edo 2020: Oshiomhole, calm down, let Ize-Iyamu market himself – DG, APC Govs forum

    The Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Dr. Salihu Lukeman, has cautioned Adams Oshiomhole, a former National Chairman of the party over his involvement in the governorship campaign in Edo State.

    Lukman urged the former APC National Chairman to “calm down”, adding that the party’s governorship candidate in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu should be allowed to lead his own campaign.

    The DG of APC’s PGF, in a statement also urged Oshiomhole to adopt the campaign model of Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the APC that allows the party and candidates to market themselves.

    “As opposed to reconciliation, it is loud drums of war that has taken over the airwaves in Edo State. Comrade Oshiomhole has relocated to Edo State and taken over the APC campaign.

    “The APC campaign is personalised around Comrade Oshiomhole and the candidate of the party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is an onlooker.

    “We need to appeal to Comrade Oshiomhole to ‘calm down’. This campaign is not about his person.

    “If the Edo State APC campaign is to go ahead this way, when APC wins the election who will run the affairs of the state as Governor? Is it Comrade Oshiomhole or Pastor Ize-Iyamu? If our party wants Edo people to vote for our candidate, Pastor Ize-Iyamu must be very visible and be seen as the face of the campaign.

    “Comrade Oshiomhole should take a backseat and play the facilitatory role our leaders play in all similar circumstances. Lagos state governorship election since 2007 present a good model. Without any doubt, our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, may be argued to be very influential in the emergence of candidates, from Babatunde Raji Fashola, Akinwumi Ambode to our current Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.”

    Oshiomhole and the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki have been involved in a face-off that led to the Governor’s disqualification from APC ahead of the party’s primary election.

    It is widely believed that Oshiomhole was behind Obaseki’s disqualification due to their irreconcilable differences.

    Against this backdrop, Obaseki had defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were he emerged as the party’s governorship candidate for the September 19 election.

  • Edo 2020: My deputy, others free to back Ize-Iyamu – Speaker

    Edo 2020: My deputy, others free to back Ize-Iyamu – Speaker

    The Speaker of Edo House of Assembly, Francis Okiye, on Tuesday said there was nothing unusual about the lawmakers backing the candidates of their choice for the Sept. 19 governorship poll in the state.

    Okiye was reacting to the Monday endorsement of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Osgie Ize-Iyamu, by the Deputy Speaker, Yekini Idiaye, and two other members of the house.

    The speaker in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Benin said: “It is imperative to state the actual position of things in Edo House of Assembly right now.

    “It is not unusual for legislators and indeed politicians to engage in political re-alignments in this part of democracy like in Nigeria.

    “That the Deputy Speaker and 2 other lawmakers chose to support the APC governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, is within their constitutional right,” he said.

    According the speaker, the lawmakers said they merely declined moving to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and chose to to work for the candidate of their party, the APC.

    Okiye stated that the three lawmakers still remained members and part of the 10 lawmakers in the Edo house of assembly.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the house had declared vacant, the seats of the 14 members of the house who were not sworn in, following the crisis that had bedeviled the house for years.

  • EDO 2020: Buhari is aware, unbothered by my N700m fraud case, Ize-Iyamu boasts

    EDO 2020: Buhari is aware, unbothered by my N700m fraud case, Ize-Iyamu boasts

    The candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the September 19 Edo State governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, boasted on Sunday that President Muhammadu Buhari is aware and unbothered by the alleged N700 million fraud case against his person before the court.

    He made the remarks while reacting to a statement by PDP’s agents in a letter to Buhari, pleading with him not to meet with Pastor Ize-Iyamu over the corruption allegation case he is currently facing at Federal High Court in Edo State.

    Ize-Iyamu said in a statement:

    “Although these faceless persons claim to write on behalf of Edo people at home and in the Diaspora, the mendacious claim is exposed by the deluge of endorsements received daily by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu from the people of Edo State across the world.

    “These include prominent members of Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s government and family, who are resigning in numbers never seen before, because they are convinced of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s integrity, competence and documented manifesto to move Edo State forward. “We are confident that Mr. President is well-aware of the vicious, unprincipled and mindless attacks on innocent people and their reputation by PDP, having been a victim of their flexible principles and morality himself.

    “Therefore, he needs very little convincing on why their jejune demand, alongside the shameful insistence on dragging others into their campaign of calumny to hide the failure of their candidate, stems from their approaching defeat on September 19.” the APC candidate noted in a statement by his media campaign unit.

    The statement added that the case brought before Justice J. M. Umar of the High Court sitting in Benin City, with the suit No. FHC/BE21C/2016, against Pastor Ize-Iyamu and four other accused persons, represents enough reason for the President to turn his back on a candidate, who emerged as the state’s APC flagbearer at the successful primary election he ratified.

    The statement added:

    “The meddlers also construe that on account of the above non-issues, the President should divorce himself from the candidate whom he asked all organs of APC, at the state and national level, to offer all the required support, within the ambit of the law, to win the election.”

    ‘’The first pointer to the ridiculous nature of the argument and, indeed, the entire affair, is that the PDP, having undergone the stress to commission the writing of the laboriously lengthy essay to police and direct the associations of the President, carefully avoided outlining details when it came to naming all those accused in the said case.

    “They, instead, settled for the concealing four other accused persons line that reveals its contradiction each time it attempts to shamefully weaponise the case against Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, whose soaring popularity and wide acceptance in the state is responsible for their jitters and sudden interest in letter writing and literature.”

    The statement added that the reason for the concealment of other accused, which is already uncovered by the people of Edo State, who have since ignored their childish tantrums, is because the four accused persons include Mr. Tony Aziegbemi, the current Chairman of the Edo State chapter of PDP, and the man he succeeded in office, who is currently the Chairman of PDP Campaign Council for the Edo Governorship election, Mr. Dan Orbih.

  • Oshiomhole’s sudden U-turn on Ize-Iyamu is great insult to Edo people – Wike

    Oshiomhole’s sudden U-turn on Ize-Iyamu is great insult to Edo people – Wike

    Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has boasted the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the forthcoming Edo governorship election Governor Godwin Obaseki has no opponent.

    Speaking on a live programme on Wednesday, Wike said the people of Edo already knew the type of candidate the All Progressives Congress (APC) presented to them following what Adams Oshiomhole said about him four years ago.

    Wike, in a statement by his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, said: “Such a character cannot be accepted by Edo people as Governor during the election.

    “I respect the Benin tradition and I know that Edo people are educated to know that Oshiomhole cannot play on their intelligence.

    “If he is now retracting what he said of Ize Iyamu, who is sure that he’s saying the correct thing now.

    “Adams Oshiomole’s sudden u- turn is a great insult on Edo people. This is an opportunity for Edo people both at home and in the diaspora to use their votes to tell Oshiomole they cannot take his lies anymore.

    “From all indications, it is obvious that there is no strong opposition against Obaseki and he will win convincingly”.

    Wike, who is chairman of the PDP National Campaign Council, stated he and his team accepted the responsibility to lead the campaign because they are satisfied with results coming out already from Edo State.

    Wike said the PDP had continued to take steps in strengthening the nation’s democracy with the promotion of internal politics and resolving conflict of interests of members to achieve common goals.

    He said the success recorded by the PDP in conducting free and fair party primaries in Edo state was evidence of the internal democracy in the party.

    The governor said all the aspirants decided to work together to support the candidature of Obaseki

    He said: “It was not easy to have a sole candidate for the party in Edo state. People thought there will be problems, given the fact that Obaseki was coming from another Party.

    “But Party members who are grounded and believe in the Party didn’t see any sacrifice too much to make.

    “Even in Ondo State, the former Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi who decamped to PDP contested keenly during the primaries and lost . If there are other pending issues in the South West, be sure that the Party will resolve them.

    “That is exactly what Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as the chairman of South-South States’ Governors had done.

    “He is making sure that we are all on the same page to ensure that all states in the South-South are controlled by PDP”.

  • This Election Is Ize-Iyamu’s to Lose

    This Election Is Ize-Iyamu’s to Lose

    Ifeanyi Nwaneri

    Amidst the din and disgrace that heralded Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and his high profile guests into the palace of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku’ Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, Saturday, July 25th, as part of his second term electioneering, some voices echoed loudest; they were that the governor is a total failure and an irredeemable liar.
    Echoes of ‘Obaseki, Ole (thief)’ reverberated around the hallowed grounds of the ancient kingdom. These were not paid thugs at a random political rally; they were the voices of everyday indigenes and subjects at the palace of a most revered king and father of the state.

    The people of Edo State idolise their King, as such, if they were not harried and frustrated with Obaseki and his administration, they would not have chosen the Oba’s palace to vent their anger, frustration and disappointment. So, the shared sentiments could never have been bought. Interestingly, what happened last Saturday was not an isolated case.
    In September 2019, while attending the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States of America, alongside other governors and government officials, Obaseki, on his way into the venue, was heckled and booed by disgruntled natives, who had laid siege to him.

    They hurled expletives at him for his below-par performance in office while chanting, yet again, ‘Ole’. The video of the embarrassment made the rounds on the social media for several days.

    It is instructive, therefore, that the ignominious welcome of the governor and his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, acolytes, was a ringing testament to how badly the people want him out of the Government House.
    And, they cannot be blamed. This was a governor that they unanimously voted for just four years ago with the mandate to take the state further than his predecessor, the intrepid Comrade Adams Oshiomole. Oshiomole had set the state on a path to prosperity, as many acknowledge across the state and beyond.

    Obaseki was just supposed to build on the legacy of his predecessor. However, he whimsically derailed and plunged the state into retrogression, while battling his benefactors and depriving the people of quality governance.

    The widespread opinion in the state is that the people have not had it so bad in terms of his reprobate and regressive leadership. From Egor to Etsako, Agenebode to Auchi and everywhere in between, it is the same story of Obaseki’s underwhelming performance, promotion of insecurity, brigandage, unemployment and divisive politics.

    Largely deemed to be suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder, Obaseki, the people of Edo believe, has evolved into an imperious and intolerant governor. It is either his way or the highway.
    Now, the chickens have come home to roost.

    The people of Edo State are on a mission to rewrite their narrative by pitching their tents with a man they affirm understands their plights and what needs to be done to better their lots from the first day in office. So, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the September 19th governorship election has his work cut out for him.
    Beyond his pastoral calling and heritage, and meritorious service to the state since 1999, Ize-Iyamu is widely popular and seen as very grounded.

    The people reckon that more than the incumbent governor, who lost the plot long ago and has seen his administration careening to the craters, Ize-Iyamu understands, where the shoe pinches them and has the personal and political resolve and readiness to right the wrongs of Obaseki. What has further convinced the people is his thoughtful and thorough blueprint for the development of the state aptly titled: ‘The Simple Agenda’, which by every definition a manifesto of hope.

    Therein, he clinically analysed the problems besetting the state and proffered practical and profound solutions. According to him, the potential of the state are huge in terms of the ability to attract tourists, investments and quality jobs, but the current security situation in the state makes the realisation of these potential unrealistic and unattainable.

    “The state of insecurity assumed its peak, when Governor Godwin Obaseki cultivated and nurtured the habit of fanning the embers of divisive politics by making unguarded statements, particularly with words and phrases as ‘crush,’ and ‘my second term is non-negotiable.’

    His determination to physically assault any fellow party faithful, who aspires to run for governor or is not willing to support his ambition has created a tense and volatile environment.”

    To this, the APC candidate avers: “Edo State under our charge will build brand new security architecture,” Ize-Iyamu said, while also accusing the governor of failing to address the high rate of unemployment, which he posited had resulted in youth restiveness in the state.

    “Youth unemployment and under-employment is a huge nightmare in the state, with eight out of 10 qualified youths unable to find jobs. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Edo State has a high rate of youth unemployment at 25.1 per cent. The rate of unemployment in Edo State increased from 19.6 per cent to 25.1 per cent in the same quarter of 2019. This is contrary to the promise of creating 200,000 jobs.

    “The unemployment situation largely accounts for the prevailing incidence of youth restiveness, which manifests in high rates of armed robbery, kidnapping, thuggery and cultism. Edo State is now literally a sanctuary for disgruntled youths, who invariably vent their frustration and anger over their social marginalisation of law-abiding and hardworking citizens,” he said.

    He has also stated unequivocally that the dangerous situation in the state could only be reversed by a change in the leadership that would be tolerant of different views, accommodating and committed to peaceful engagement. And, the people believe him wholeheartedly.

    In ‘The Simple Agenda’, Ize-Iyamu asserts that the change that the state requires is not premised on mere sloganeering or rhetoric, but contended that, “We have analysed the challenges facing our state, consulted widely across the 18 Local Government Areas, and based on the APC manifesto, we have come up with a robust blueprint to launch Edo State on the path to sustainable prosperity and holistic development.

    “Ours is a genuine road map to transform our state from its present unacceptable condition of underdevelopment to an attractive state with a vibrant economy.”

    Indeed, the purpose of government is the pursuance of happiness for the greater majority of the people, which is why Pastor
    Ize-Iyamu has said his administration would strive to meet this purpose at all times, “and serve the needs of the good people of Edo State efficiently, effectively and fairly through good governance that is geared towards solving social problems in Edo State.”

    However, if there was anything that has arguably established Obaseki’s clueless approach to governance and leadership, it was the fact that his trip to Lagos at the weekend where he met with newspapers operators of different categories was a waste.
    Can you imagine a governor seeking re-election saying to media operators that he only came to thank them? Really? Thank them for what? He simply does not understand the issues and clearly unable to sell them. Never again will Edo walk the path of Obaseki in her political trajectory. It’s a definite goodbye to leadership misfortune.

    *Nwaneri lives in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city

  • Edo 2020: Several injured, cars damaged as Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu supporters clash at Oba of Benin palace

    Edo 2020: Several injured, cars damaged as Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu supporters clash at Oba of Benin palace

    Thugs suspected to be loyal to the two main political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, clashed at the entrance to the palace of the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, following the visit of the South-south PDP governors to the palace.

    The clash occurred immediately after the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, left the palace with other state governors, who paid a courtesy visit to the Oba of Benin ahead of the flag-off of the party’s governorship campaign in Benin City.‎

    The thugs were said to have engaged in singing pro-solidarity and counter-songs for and against Governor Obaseki and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu at the exit gate of the palace when tempers went beyond control.

    In the ensuing melee, the thugs used dangerous weapons, including firearms, cutlasses and others and in the process several persons were reportedly injured while others scampered to safety, even as many cars parked at the front of the palace were damaged.

    They shot sporadically into the air for minutes before they were dispersed by policemen, who were keeping guards at the entrance to the palace.

    Besides, poles bearing PDP umbrella and logos along the airport road were torn to shred.

    Reacting to the incident, ‎the Edo State Media Campaign Council of the APC for the governorship election accused Governor Obaseki and his party, the PDP, of unleashing violence on the people in Benin City following a confrontation in which the governor was booed and embarrassed while trying to gain entry into the palace of the Oba of Benin.

    The Chairman of the Media Campaign Council, Mr John Mayaki, in a statement said that Obaseki instructed his thugs to attack the people as retribution for their public booing of his arrival with various chants labeling him a thief and rejected candidate and for spurning his rally allegedly attended by tax-collectors and mobilized thugs.

    “It is sad that Mr Godwin Obaseki, the outgoing governor of Edo State, has, today, July 25 (yesterday) displayed the same traits of intolerance and penchant for violence that made the people of Edo State unanimously reject him.

    “Booed by the people at the entrance of the palace of our great Oba for handing the state to the PDP tax collectors, who are unconscionably feasting on our collective patrimony, Mr Godwin Obaseki, as an act of revenge, instructed the thugs and cultists he has spent the past few weeks recruiting in the state and beyond to attack the people with dangerous arms,” he alleged.

  • Ize-Iyamu leads Obaseki in online poll

    Ize-Iyamu leads Obaseki in online poll

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the September 19 gubernatorial election in Edo State, is currently leading Governor Godwin Obaseki, the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in an online poll conducted by Ripples Nigeria.

    The online poll with the headline ‘Who would you vote in the Edo Guber election: Obaseki or Ize-Iyamu has 4,292 votes as at 7:14pm on Wednesday July 22.

    In the result, 48 percent of respondents said they will vote for Ize-Iyamu while 46 percent picked Obaseki. Five percent of the respondents picked other candidates aside the two main challengers.

    John Mayaki, the Chairman of the Edo state APC Media Campaign Council, said the poll was sponsored by Governor Godwin Obaseki to test his might.

    Crusoe Osagie, Media Aide to Governor Obaseki, could not be reached for his reaction.

    Recall that the New Nigeria Collective (NNC) group has accused the Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki, of running his government based on lies.

    According to the group, Governor Obaseki is best known for hounding opponents who refuse to support his government.

    In a press statement sent to journalists on Wednesday, July 22 and signed by its chairman, Adeola Adewunmi, the group also accused the governor of making several attempts to intimidate one of the respected men in Edo state, Captain Hosa Okunbor.

  • Edo 2020: NRM candidate approaches court, seeks Ize-Iyamu’s disqualification from guber race

    Edo 2020: NRM candidate approaches court, seeks Ize-Iyamu’s disqualification from guber race

    The National Rescue Movement (NRM) prayed a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to disqualify Osagie Ize – Iyamu as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the Edo governorship election.

    NRM and its candidate for the forthcoming Edo governorship, Stevie Ozono, filed the suit and named Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress, Osagie Ize – Iyamu and Gani Audu as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants respectively.

    The plaintiffs averred that by Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Sections 31 and 153 of the Electoral Act and the Guidelines for the submission of candidates of political parties issued by INEC, it is only the political party’s National Chairman and the National Secretary who sign a letter forwarding names of the party’s candidate to INEC.

    They contended that it was Gov. MaiMala Buni of Yobe and John Akpan Udoedeghe, the National Chairman of the Caretaker/Extra – Ordinary Convention Committee and the National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extra – Ordinary Convention Committee who signed the letter conveying the names of Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Gani Audu to the INEC as the APC governorship candidate and running mate respectively for the forthcoming Edo State governorship election.

    The Movement and Ozono asked the court to determine whether after due consultation of Sections 183, 222a and 223 of the 1999 Constitution INEC can lawfully deem that the list of candidates of the APC for the Edo State gubernatorial elections to be held on Sept. 19, 2020, has been submitted to it by the letter dated June 29, signed by Udoedeghe and Buni.

    They asked the court to declare that APC has no candidates for the Edo State gubernatorial elections to be held on Sept. 19, by the non – submission of her list of candidates before the deadline on June 29.

    They also urged the court to make an Order voiding the decision of INEC to include APC, Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Gani Audu as candidates in the gubernatorial elections about Edo to be held on Sept. 19, 2020.

    The plaintiffs attached a 30-paragraph of affidavit deposed to by Chinedu Obi, the National Publicity Secretary of the National Rescue Movement, to their suit.

    The case has been assigned to Justice A.R. Muhammed.

    No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

  • Edo 2020: Oshiomhole’s burden marketing Ize-Iyamu, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2020: Oshiomhole’s burden marketing Ize-Iyamu, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    By Ehichioya Ezomon
    If politics were mathematics, in which two plus two equals four, it would have been game over for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 19, 2020 governorship election in Edo State.
    But in politics, two plus two can produce a different result. That’s why barely two months and one week to the poll, and the seeming groundswell of supports for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pundits are hesitant to call the vote for the new ruling party.
    If the PDP carries the day in September, it will have the former National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to thank for it. The former governor has had the APC work cut of for it, in trying to market its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
    Ize-Iyamu, a foundation member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that merged with three political parties to form the APC in 2013, was a major player in Oshiomhole’s election in 2007. He became the director-general of his second term bid in 2012, and delivered on the assignment successfully.
    But in 2016, while campaigning for his successor, Godwin Obaseki, Oshiomhole turned against his twice electoral facilitator, Ize-Iyamu, who had decamped to the PDP, which he flew its flag at the poll.
    In the presumption that all is fair in politics, as in war, Oshiomhole, at every stop in the campaign to install Obaseki, leveled damaging, and mostly unsubstantiated allegations against Ize-Iyamu.
    The thrust of the allegations, which became Internet hits at the 2016 election cycle, is that Ize-Iyamu was unworthy of any public office where he would oversee the finances of government.
    And ahead of the September 2020 poll, those allegations have resurfaced at campaign gatherings, and particularly on social media. They’re the rave of the moment!
    It’s such that the PDP and its members have virtually abandoned the real issues about what Obaseki has done for Edo people in the past three years and seven months, and what to expect from him in next four years if given a second chance.
    Rather, the joint campaign of Obaseki and Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu, and the PDP and its supporters are laser-focused on using Oshiomhole’s words against the APC candidate, Ize-Iyamu.
    And who wouldn’t? Why belabour yourself when Oshiomhole, who’s the major promoter of Ize-Iyamu, has done a good job of demarketing his own candidate? Simply replay those allegations and allow the voters to make up their minds!
    Oshiomhole said so many “bad things” about and against Ize-Iyamu that need no repeating, but let’s sample some of his unrestrained characterization in an undated video of Channels TV’s live coverage of a 2016 APC rally in Benin City:
    His words: “It is true we (Ize-Iyamu and I) found ourselves in the region of politics working together, but I never gave him government job. I kept him busy. Let him be holding midnight meetings, which he is used to.
    “Ask him, since he was the DG (of my campaign), why did I not appoint him into government? We kept him away, nothing near government circle; no access to public fund.”
    Oshiomhole pigeonholed Ize-Iyamu as fit only for the “dirty job” of politicking: strategizing, mobilising and campaigning for him to assume the office of governor twice. But in his reckoning, Ize-Iyamu wasn’t even qualified to be in the corridors of power, talk less of tasting the ultimate power as a governor.
    It’s Oshiomhole’s “use-and-dump” that prompted Ize-Iyamu to decamp to the PDP in 2016 for the governorship contest against Obaseki, and the reason Oshiomhole unconscionably bad-mouthed, and ran Ize-Iyamu down.
    But surprisingly at the rally (in the Channels TV video, reported by PREMIUM TIMES.online), as in other campaign stops, Oshiomhole gave testimonials about Obaseki’s stellar qualities for governor.
    Oshiomhole was to come around two years later, in 2018, to revalidate his choice of Obaseki, as a “talk-na-do” governor. On January 19, 2018, he commended his successor for achieving a lot in a harsh economic environment.
    At the inauguration in Benin City of 75 intra-city buses purchased by the Obaseki administration, Oshiomhole said he’s proud of the governor for building on his legacy. Take a look:
    “I am humbled by your accomplishments, and I am proud that we made promises on your behalf during the 2016 electioneering period and you have accomplished a lot of the promises. You are working tirelessly to industrialize the state and make life easy for the people.
    “Many governors are complaining that there is no money, and unable to pay salaries, but you have developed your own creativity to attract resources to the state. This reflects your competence and financial ability to develop the economy of the state.”
    But in the heat of the crisis in the Edo chapter of the APC that pitted them against each other, Oshiomhole has turned praises of Obaseki into recrimination, and his demagoguing of Ize-Iyamu into recommendation for governor in the September poll.
    Instructively, what Oshiomhole said in December 2019 when Ize-Iyamu returned to the APC may partially answer the PDP and its supporters’ poser for the APC and its supporters to show “any good thing that Oshiomhole has ever said about Ize-Iyamu.”
    Oshiomhole said: “If you remember, Pastor Ize-Iyamu was my DG (campaign organisation) in 2012 (for my) second term. I won in all the 18 local government areas. I won all the wards in Edo South. I scored 74.6 per cent in the total votes cast.
    “In 2016, the man left us and stood against us. We only managed to defeat him with about 50,000 votes. So, if he is bringing on board, as he has done, that his goodwill, his energy, his resourcefulness, and his own electoral base to join the APC, I am much more confident now about APC continuous hold on the governance of this state than ever before.”
    It’s like a dog coming back to its vomit, for Oshiomhole to project Ize-Iyamu’s ability to produce electoral victories, which wasn’t lost on Obaseki, and perhaps the reason he didn’t want Ize-Iyamu in the APC to battle the September poll ticket with him.
    But that’s history now, as Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki have switched positions in the APC and PDP. But the question is: Can Oshiomhole whitewash Pastor Ize-Iyamu and blacken Governor Obaseki in the run-up to the poll? What about his past condemnation of one and commendation for the other that’s shaping the campaigns?
    Well, in politics, which is not mathematics, what goes around doesn’t really come around. Karma may appear to have caught up with Oshiomhole, but he could turn things around in the barely two months before the election, and shame his vilifiers.
    One week, even 24 hours, is a long time in politics. Any eventuality could muddy the waters for the PDP and Governor Obaseki, who’s already measuring the new drapes at the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City. So, it isn’t ‘Uhuru’ yet!
    * Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.