19th June, 2020
By Michael Adeshina
The anticipated defection of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State to the Peoples Democratic Party finally happened on Friday.
His defection was perfected on Friday at the PDP’s Edo secretariat in Benin, the state capital.
Obaseki was received by National Vice Chairman, Southsouth of the party, Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, Edo PDP chairman Dr. Tony Aziegbemi; members of the State Working Committee (SWC) and some chieftains of the party.
The reception of about ten minutes took place in Aziegbemi’s office but Obaseki declined to speak with reporters at the end of the ceremony.
The governor, however, made his personal announcement via his verified Twitter handle.
The governor wrote, “I have officially joined the @OfficialPDPNig to advance my ambition to seek re-election as Governor of Edo State.
“I, as always, remain committed to engendering good governance and sustainable development of our dear state.”
Also, the PDP announced the defection on its verified Twitter handle.
The party said, “The Governor of Edo State, H. E. Governor Obaseki has defected to our great Party, the @OfficialPDPNig. The declaration was made this afternoon at the state Secretariat of our party in Benin city, Edo State. Power to the people.”
In the video that accompanied the tweet, Obaseki made his declaration to all Nigerians “within the state and across the country, to become a member of PDP.”
The National Working Committee of the Party had earlier considered waivers for the governor after he met with some power brokers.
However, the meeting was followed by the announcement of the postponement of PDP’s primary election scheduled for June 19 and June 20.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan had said, “The NWC of the party has postponed the Edo State governorship primary election earlier scheduled for Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20, 2020, to a new date of Tuesday, June 23, 2020. This decision is predicated on the exigencies of party activities.”
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, the governorship election in the state is scheduled for September 19.