TheCable

Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo state, says the engine of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is dead.

For Oshiomhole, also dead “on arrival” is the bid of the party to reclaim Edo in the September 10 governorship election.

Oshiomhole said the absence of PDP governors at the flag-off of the campaign of Osagie Ize-Iyamu is an indication that they had already rejected the party’s flagbearer.

He was speaking on Thursday, during a stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Benin, the state capital.

“The campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party for the forthcoming governorship election in the state is dead on arrival. Whether you like it or not, the PDP engine is dead on arrival,” he said.

“The early morning signals are clear. For the first time since 1999, a candidate was being presented to the people of Edo State for the most important single job and the key pillars were there fastened to their chairs and their tables, none of them could stand on their feet to say one word.”

The governor said unlike the PDP, which did not enjoy leadership support, the chairman of the APC and some governors will attend the launch of the campaign of Godwin Obaseki, the ruling party’s candidate for the election.

“While the PDP couldn’t get any national person of note to present a tattered flag, our own national chairman will be around, as a former governor, former federal permanent secretary and national chairman of the governing party to present the flag to our candidate,” he said.

“My brother governors will be coming from Friday; all the progressives governors will be here to show solidarity. We are not going to be represented by one governor. The governors will come.”‎

He taunted Tom Ikimi, former minister of foreign affairs, saying: “The APC will have a big outing, unlike what happened with the PDP, with the ‘papas’ seated, speechless and ‘pickin’ wobbling and an old man crying over a pot of soup on live television.”

The governor also showered encomiums on Pius Odubu, his deputy, for agreeing to put aside the differences they had in the past, and accepting to work towards the victory of the APC in the election.

“Let me again publicly appreciate my brother. In this hall, I have made some statements in the past. I cannot but again reiterate what I said to the deputy governor yesterday that I particularly value the fact that he had no difficulty in recognising that for him, it is not an option,” he said.

“I think the deputy governor’s position reminds us that truly anyone who labours to build a house will find no comfort in undermining the foundation of that house, no matter the level of provocation. I submit and I decree that the fact that he readily accepted in the manner that he did shows that he knew that he has a stake in this house because his sweat together with your sweat was used to mould the blocks with which this house was built.

“The reason the deputy governor’s position is extremely important is that there is nobody that has any reason to be more aggrieved in status, in rank than him. He was the next after Godwin in terms of number of votes. He is number two citizen in the state. And so, if in spite of this he has done what he did, Pius, I want to tell you, your space in my heart has been deepened, reinforced.”