EDO State Governor Godwin Obaseki is facing challenges in a year his second term ambition is supposed to materialise.
He and his erstwhile godfather and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, have fallen apart.
Today, the party is factionalised with some members standing with Oshiomhole while others are with the governor.
Worried by the possible consequences of the feud, well-meaning people in the state and outside of it have tried to intervene to no avail.
Many see the face-off as an ego war, with belief that Obaseki is not willing to bend because he wields all the power in the state.
This, many believe amounts to ingratitude ingratitude on the part of the governor whose emergence as governor was believed to have been facilitated by Oshiomhole.
Obaseki had many competitors for the exalted seat, but Oshiomhole reportedly closed his ears to the anti-Obaseki crusaders and installed him as the governor of the state.
This singular act, some said, should be enough consideration for the governor to accord Oshiomhole the highest regard.
Observers believe that the leadership tussle could become an ill-wind that would expose the party’s weaknesses to rival parties who are out to oust APC in the state.
Read Also: Obaseki vows to end godfatherism in Edo
Governor Obaseki said his decisions were taken in the interest of the state, to ensure that things are done properly.
The governor’s apologists also said they were out to put an end to godfatherism; a mission previously championed by the APC National Chairman while he held sway as governor in the state.
Obaseki had alleged that his quarrel with Oshiomhole stemmed from undue pressure from the governor that he should divert public funds to the wrong channels.
For Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), the support base of Oshiomhole in the state, the governor erred gravely in labeling Oshiomhole the problem of the state.
The group said Obaseki had set the machinery in place to use the APC national chairman as a burnt offering. According to EPM, Obaseki is acting like a typical slave raider who puts the entire state to sword because of his second term ambition.
They noted that the governor had been doling out crumbs to touts to go about cracking the APC National Chairman’s supporters.
Despite the challenges confronting the governor, he was recently honoured by the Fiscal Policy and Transparency Agency for his administration’s reform in the management of the state’s resources.
