12th June, 2020
By Jethro Ibileke
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has said he would not appeal his disqualification from participating in the 22 June primary election for the nomination of a candidate for the governorship election in the state.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki said appealing the outcome of “the unjust outcome of the evaluation and screening process of the APC” would be an effort in futility.
The statement reads:
“We have watched the mockery of democratic process, which Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is administering and superintending over in our great party the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It has been an unfortunate, disheartening and dreadful spectacle.
“We had initially asserted that going by the open display and enthronement of illegality by one man in the party that comprises several organs and eminent personalities, there is no way that Governor Godwin Obaseki would get a fair assessment in the run-run-up to the nomination of candidates to fly the flag of the party in the forthcoming Edo gubernatorial election.
“It is unfortunate that this open show of shame, illegality and travesty of justice is the brand of democracy which Comrade Oshiomhole has reduced the APC into.
“The situation is quite saddening because this is a party supposedly reputed for change, equity and social justice.
“We have therefore decided that it would be effort in futility to appeal whatever the unjust outcome of the evaluation and screening process of the APC will be, especially when Comrade Oshiomhole has declared that he is the Supreme Court and ultimate determiner of the fate and future of our great party.
“We wish Oshiomhole luck in his maladministration of the party and trust that the Almighty will help our country to find the path to true liberty, freedom and justice.
“We call on all party members and the teeming supporters of Governor Obaseki to remain calm and await further directives.
The governorship screening committee of the APC Friday rejected the candidacy of Obaseki.
He was disqualified alongside Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.
The disqualification was announced by the chairman of the screening committee, Prof. Jonathan Ayuba at a press conference in Abuja.
He gave as reason the governor’s failure to produce his Higher School Certificate, HSC, the instrument, which he supposedly entered the University of Ibadan to read Classics in 1973.
He also said the committee could not verify the governor’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
Iduoriyekemwen was disqualified for dragging the party to court.
Engr. Ogiemwonyi who is an associate of the Oshiomhole camp was also disqualified for discrepancies in the names in his credentials.
The outcome meant that three aspirants are now left in the race: Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Dr. Pius Odubu and Mr. Osaze Obaze.