Edo 2020: Governor Obaseki Joins PDP

Days after resigning his membership from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has formally joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The governor made the announcement via his official Twitter handle. 

AllNews understands that Obaseki was received by the leadership of the party led by the state Chairman of the PDP, Tony Aziegbemi.

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.

— Godwin Obaseki (GGO) (@GovernorObaseki) June 19, 2020

AllNews reports that the incumbent Governor, who is seeking reelection into office, was disqualified at the screening process for the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for having a “defective certificate”.

The Chairman of the Screening Committee, Prof. Jonathan Ayuba, revealed this to newsmen on Friday in Abuja that apart from Obaseki, Chris Ogiemwonyi and Mathew Iduoriyekenwen were also disqualified from standing for the primaries.

According to Ayuba, the incumbent Governor of Edo State was disqualified on the ground of a defective Higher School Certificate, and that the document Obaseki produced only attested to his attendance and not a certificate.

He also said that members of the seven-man screening committee could not ascertain the authenticity of his National Youth Service Corps Discharge Certificate.

At the screening process, which held in Abuja on Friday, Ize Iyamu who bore the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2016 gubernatorial election in Edo State was cleared alongside four other candidates.

The embattled governor has been on loggerheads with the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole. 

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who had hosted Obaseki in a private meeting on Sunday, said he would be happy should his Edo State counterpart joins the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to prosecute his re-election bid.

He asserted that the manner of Obaseki’s disqualification, despite the political implications for the APC, indicates that the ruling party was willing to throw caution to the wind and take the state by brute force.

The Rivers Governor warned the ruling party not to use the Police and Security to manipulate Edo election, stressing it could unleash civil disobedience in a magnitude of what is currently happening in the United States, over the killing of an African-America.

“They cannot get away with using the security force and INEC to have their way because everybody will be involved. Edo people will be involved. See what is happening in the US with George Floyd’s death, nobody expected that just one death can lead to all that,” he said.