APC is lawlessness, I have left the party for good – Obaseki

The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki has said that lawlessness on the part of some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) informed his decision to dump the party.

The governor, who spoke on Saturday in Benin City, the state capital during the flag off of his campaign, said he would not return to the lawless ways of the APC, no matter the provocation.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at the campaign venue, the governor said, “We left them because of their lawlessness. We will not, no matter how provoked, resort to the same lawlessness. I want to thank you and assure you that God has given us the victory”.

In his address, which was monitored by our correspondent on the African Independent Television (AIT), Obaseki promised to transform Edo state, adding that such transformation would lead to the transformation of the country.

The governor said the PDP considered him worthy of the governorship ticket as reward for his record of performance in the past four years.

According to him, his decision to put the people first, above any other interests, cost him the governorship ticket of the APC, saying that his getting the PDP ticket to run the race was a miracle.

He said, “This mandate that has been given to us is simple. What you (PDP) are saying as a party is, we like what you have done in the last four years, please go back and continue and improve on what you have done.

“In the last four years, we put our people first. Nothing else matters more than our people even though that put us in trouble. But we didn’t care because the voice of our people is the voice of God.

“Because we were working for our people, God Almighty has supported us. That is why we are here today because what has happened to us in the politics of this country can best be described as miraculous.

“We stood up, courageous, believing in God and believing in our people, believing in ourselves. We fought and God searched our hearts and saw that all we were doing was for Him and the people of Edo, so He stood by us.”

Meanwhile, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, his counterparts in Sokoto and Rivers States, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Nyesom Wike led other guests on a courtesy visit to the Palace of Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolopolo, Oba Ewuare II, before the flag-off of Governor Obaseki’s campaign for re-election in the September 19, 2020 Governorship poll in Edo State.

Other governors already in the state for the flag-off are Duoye Diri, Seyi Makinde and Sen. Bala Muhammed of Bayelsa, Oyo and Bauchi States respectively.

Other guests at the event include Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi; National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus; Chairman of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi; Chief Tom Ikimi; Sen. Clifford Ordia and Barr. Ken Imasuagbon, among others.

The event is taking place at the Lawn Tennis Court of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, with strict compliance with coronavirus (COVID-19) directives issued by the Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for public gatherings.