TheCable

Emmanuel Bello, senior special assistant to Darius Ishaku, governor of Taraba, on public affairs, says Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is someone with a terrible record.

Bello said this in response to a statement credited to Oshiomhole.

The APC chairman had accused Ishaku of being an absentee governor, saying his party would give the state a “resident governor.”

But in a statement on Tuesday, Bello warned Oshiomhole to watch his utterances.

He said Oshiomhole resorted to “a campaign of calumny” because he has realised that he would not be able to take over the state like Ekiti.

“Taraba state already has a resident, people oriented governor who is at home with the populace and doing a great job. This is the second time Adams Oshiomhole is vibrating and engaging in his trade mark unchecked vituperation against imaginary foes,”the statement read.

“The first time he spoke about Taraba governor, he said the mandate was stolen through rigging. He then announced that it was the time of the APC to also rig. The statement must have embarrassed even APC members in Taraba.

“How could a former governor and national leader of a party blatantly announce it has plans to dig using the electoral body and security forces? But there he was in all his infamy boasting of their ability to rig.

“Now he is calling Governor Ishaku an absentee governor. This is a man with a terrible record in Edo state. Those records are in the public domain. This is a governor who elevated intimidation, abuse of office and exploitation to high heavens while he held sway in Edo.

“The governor is never absent. He may physically travel out of the state. But he keeps in touch with his team. Modern governance has made that very possible. No effective leader would stay in one place for too long. Interactions and the need to find development partners requires some form of travelling by serious executives.

“That is what this governor does. His recent trip, for instance, saw him forging strategic alliances with key countries in the areas of agriculture, education and health. The Kenyan model for inner city water scheme is one of the highlights of his administration. And it was a product of a state visit to Kenya.

“These are but a few benefits of such trips. Not the empty trips embarked by the leader of Oshiomhole’s party which has now left Nigeria the poverty headquarters of the world.”