₦airaland Forum

Minister of State for Budget and National Planning says: Vote Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for Governor and Mallam Gani Audu for Deputy-Governor.
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*Eid-el-Kabir: Mallam Gani Audu fecilitates with Muslim Ummah, reminds them to pray for peace before, during and after the upcoming gubernatorial election.*



Mallam Gani Audu, deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the September 19 governorship election in Edo State, sends his greetings to the Muslim Ummah in Edo state on the celebration of Eid ul-Adha, stressing that "this is a celebration of the willingness sacrifice".

In a statement released by Mohammed Mamudu, Head of Media & Communication for Team MGA, Mallam Gani Audu said; "The significance of Eid al-Adha is to remind us of the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Bbuh) to sacrifice his young son, Ismail (Pbuh) as he saw it happen in his dream. But Allah sent an angel to command him to sacrifice an animal, instead of his son. In commemorating Eid al-Adha, we honor and remember the example of Ibrahim (PBUH)."

He stated further that "Sacrifices are essential for socio-economic and political development and most especially for the development of tolerance for opposing views required to foster a sense of unity in any modern society"

Mallam Gani Audu emphasized that COVID19 is still ravaging the country therefore "our celebrations should be low key and sombre, because we must all adhere to COVID19 health and safety protocols, of social distancing, wearing a mask and regular washing of one's hands, while we celebrate"

Finally Mallam Audu enjoined the Ummah "to pray for peaceful elections in September" and stressed that they should "troop out en masse to participate in the upcoming gubernatorial elections."

THE All Progressives Congress, APC in Edo State yesterday alleged that the Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Campaign Council who is also the governor of Rivers State, Nyesome Wike and Governor Godwin Obaseki who is the candidate of the PDP have perfected plans to unleash violence in the state before and during the September 19th election.

A statement yesterday by the Chairman Media of Edo State APC Campaign Council, John Mayaki while reacting to comments by Wike in a television interview aired yesterday alleged that PDP was planning to mar the election for fear of defeat.

Wike during the programme was said to have stated that the people of Edo already knew the type of candidate the APC was presenting, going by what the former national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole said about the APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu four years ago.

He said“Adams Oshiomhole told Edo people that Ize-Iyamu was rusticated from school; that he poured acid on a fellow student that destroyed his manhood. That he is an armed robber that cannot be trusted with money,” Wike reportedly said.
But Mayaki in a statement alleged that Governor Obaseki like Wike has perfected strategies including intimidation vandalism, destruction of opponent’s properties, and harassment of innocent persons to obtain power.

He said, “According to reliable data sourced from Peace Map, political violence in Rivers State steadily increased beginning in January 2015, peaking in the lead-up and aftermath of the April gubernatorial elections and this was due largely to the violent attitude of Nyesom Wike.

“In Edo State, we have seen the same trait. There is a persistent problem in the violent, dishonest, and generally deplorable conduct of the rejected PDP which poses a great threat to the peaceful conduct of the September 19 election.

‘A clear example of their violent conduct and brutality was witnessed by all in the incident that took place on July 25, when Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his cohorts of tax-collectors were confronted, through a peaceful protest, by the people of Edo State who are both repulsed and angered at the continuous unraveling of his collapsing government marked by daily resignations and revelations of fraud.

“As video evidence and several objective eye-witness accounts show, this incident took place outside of the Palace, in the Oredo Local Council.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/edo-2020-apc-alleges-violent-plots-by-wike-obaseki-to-disrupt-election/

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki appears to have added a new preference to his unkind character traits and it’s called SADISM. He’s suddenly developed an intentional penchant for delighting in the misfortune of others. And as a political neophyte, spurred only by the irrationality of his infantile choices, his inability to strategically channel his bile, especially for logic-driven results, is quick to expose him and his petty ecstasy. 
 
I suffered a momentary pang of shock recently, when I learnt of the lies being joyfully spread around by the Edo State governor amongst his close-knit allies. The embattled outgoing governor of Edo State has been propounding to his sycophantic cliques, his new theory on why the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not stand a chance in the September 19 governorship election.
 
According to him, a certain individual from the northern part of the country, who used to assist the ruling party by arranging some dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is no more, and therefore, the party would be unable to muster enough funds for the election, which automatically leaves him in a position of strength as the incumbent.
 
How more wicked, satanic and insensate can a character be, all in the name of an ambition? His excitement, when others suffer misfortune is both legendary and incomprehensible. This also underscores why all the good people in Edo State today are standing in a camp different from his.
 
For eight years, Obaseki headed former Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s economic team and managed the state with him, literally taking the decisions from behind the scene. This, understandably, was the reason Oshiomhole, against all odds, deemed it fit to push him forward as his successor, because not only was he with him for that long, he was in charge of the state’s economy.
 
No sooner had he assumed office than he started seeking the fall of his benefactor as the national chairman of the APC, aligning with Oshiomhole’s traducers in the party to victimise and denigrate him till he was eventually pushed out of his position as the APC chairman.
 
To get him into office, Oshiomhole did everything within his reach, including projections that were never to be and allusions that were later proven overtime as incorrect. But to pay back, he’s done practically everything, including telling palpable lies and painting Oshiomhole black. It was the ‘cutest thank you’ ever in appreciation of all that Oshiomhole did for him.
 
But he didn’t stop with Oshiomhole. He’d probably read some puerile laws of power and decided to go after everyone, who contributed to his success, as not just his payback for their good deeds to him, but also to gloat, if misfortune eventually befalls any of them.
 
This, of course, brings to mind, the speed at which he went after Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo. Curiously, this started after some people moved to get Okunbo into the governorship race, an overture he expressly turned down.
 
But on getting this hint, Obaseki went after the retired commercial pilot. Although he did not want Okunbo to run for the position, he never sat with him to solicit his support.  Yet, the only time he made a remark about the governorship to Okunbo was at a reception in Lagos, where he derisively addressed him as “Incoming Governor”, to which Okunbo immediately dispelled and reiterated that he wasn’t interested in the office of the governor.
 
Coincidentally, as Okunbo narrated recently in a lengthy press statement, on the same day that the reception held in Lagos, the story of a move by the Nigeria Ports Authority against Okunbo’s company, the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA), was published in some of the dailies.
 
The story had insinuated again that Okunbo was interested in the Edo governorship, even when intelligence had reached the Edo-born businessman and philanthropist that Obaseki was the one behind the rumour.
 
“As God would have it, while in the company of some friends at the governor’s house in Benin, on one occasion, I confronted him that he was the one behind the attack on my company.  In a bid to defend himself, he put a call through to someone in Lagos and, perhaps, mistakenly left the phone speaker.  
 
“He asked the person at the other end: ‘Why is the MD of NPA worrying Captain?’ and the man replied: ‘Godwin, I thought you said this man was fighting you.  The MD of NPA is fighting your battle for you.’  I quickly told him that I had caught him. On this occasion, I had witnesses and, if further probed, names could be mentioned,” Okunbo narrated. 
 
Okunbo also recalled that, when Obaseki was the chairman of the National Economic Council’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism, “I got a feeler that a damaging report was going to be written about my company by the Committee.  
 
“I was then given an opportunity to address the Committee on the matter to defend my company and its job.  My defence was excellently delivered, but at the end of the day, when the report came out, it was still damaging even when I had complied with my threshold and responsibilities.
 
“It is sad that Governor Obaseki has been paranoid about me even before he became governor, for reasons best known to him,” he noted, adding that he had since known that the disagreements “between Comrade Oshiomhole and myself, during his eight years administration in Edo State, were orchestrated from the background by Governor Obaseki.” 
 
Need I say more that, Obaseki is irredeemably evil and sadistic and that ingratitude remains his stock-in-trade? How does anyone situate the video of a colleague-governor, Abdulahi Ganduje, conspicuously placed at a roundabout in Benin, just because he is leading his party’s campaign in September? What joy does it give him?
 
How do you even start to define the character of a governor, who ordered a crackdown on his people in a campaign period? Do I need to say it more expressly that he lacks wisdom, patience and the perseverance required to occupy his current office? He is simply innately wicked hence his going after all the illustrious sons and daughters of the state.
 
It’s in Obaseki’s interest to stop looking at the rear mirror of bringing back the untruths about Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, because it helped him to win the 2016 election. He should look at the windshield of the future of what Ize-Iyamu has to offer the Edo people in the next four years and if he must look at the rear mirror, then he should tell us all what he too has done for the Edo people in the last four years, definitely not on power-point presentations of things that have never happened.
 
The general belief is that he actually has nothing to campaign with and his only escape is to attack the character of his opponent and try to discredit them. Obaseki has nothing to offer Edo and when given the chance in the last four years, all he has done is to impoverish them and sold to them projects only on paper with propaganda and nothing to show on the ground. But he has kept his social media rats busy, promoting paper presentations of his achievements and encouraging them to abuse their elders. Is that the 200,000 jobs he promised the youths?
 
Well, whoever it was that Obaseki claimed was no more but had always provided financial back-up for the APC through the CBN, it is yet to be seen how Obaseki too would survive the post-office financial scandal that is definitely to come on his trail after the September 19 election. Fingers crossed!

-- Mohammad wrote from Abuja

https://www.nairaland.com/6022720/obasekis-intolerant-sadistic-leadership-yakub

On November 12, 2020, Godwin Obaseki would have spent four years as Governor of Edo state. By the special grace of God, that will be the terminal date of his exit from the power rostrum of Edo state. Of course, he has jumped ship to seek re-election in the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party, (PDP), but from all available statistics on ground, it is a project that is dead on arrival. And too many things are happening in quick succession that exposes the level of desperation of a Governor that has turned Edo political turf to another Iraq, where gun-shots have become familiar sounds to the ears of the people. If only Godwin Obaseki was godly enough to strategically apply the doctrines of collective bargaining and constructive engagement, he would have been enjoying a peaceful sleep at every nightfall. When this needless political squabbles was gathering dust and well-intentioned people tried to mediate, Godwin Obaseki was showing the gusto of a macho, ready to wrestle everybody aground. With money and power, common sense does not visit you easily. Those who are profitting from him would rather wish the fight continues, since that is a guarantee for their continued exploitation.

They add pep to the drumbeats of sustained combat, remind him that he is the Governor who controls the oscillation of the political pendulum. They danced ostentatiously, with whimsical strokes, to suit the percussive sounds of the drummers. They hailed and wailed, with salutary catch phrases that would swell the sensibilities of the initiate. He was the new sheriff in town, that must be dreaded; else, he visits his anger on anyone. To make an easy sail, he told his hangers-on that he was fighting godfathers and succeeded in almost blackmailing his benefactors; those who cooked and pounded the yam, garnished with special culinary to create an aroma that suits the addictive properties of power. When a godson fights a godfather, the godson becomes the godfather. That exactly is the rubrics of power game. You cannot be in politics without godfathers. I haven't seen one of such political setting where godfatherism is not an item on the menu. It isn't a Nigerian word. It all depends on how power is appropriated to serve the common good. As we speak, Godwin Obaseki has become the PDP's godfather-in-Chief, while Phillip Shuaibu, has become deputy godfather-in-Chief. They both control the power apparatchik of the PDP presently.

Typical of any political power formation, especially in third world countries where those who wield power are almost like demi-gods, when the holder is seeing his exit door nearby, his cognitive, affective and psychomotive skills create a psychological unease, such that causes him restlessness. He suspects everyone around him, because he wouldn't know what information has gone out there to his political foes through supposedly trusted aides. In the case of Godwin Obaseki, it is becoming obvious that he is not enjoying the best of psychological collection that would make him stand above the menacing force of unreason to take the best of decisions. I can see him ageing fast, with grey hair spots on his guber crown. His looks are conveying the symptoms of boredom, as he paces up and down, to find the appropriate response to the legion of "troubles" rearing their heads everyday. At the dawn of everyday, it is one resignation too many, and the thought that more may come in the days and weeks ahead, also carries its own tempestuous burden. Who to truly trust becomes a riddle woven into several possibilities and permutations.

I am still wondering if this was the same Godwin Obaseki that we both sat next to each other in almost four years of being part of Edo State Executive Council. I served four years and he served eight years. I am also wondering if this is the same Godwin Obaseki that signed the dotted lines as witness to love; when Oshiomhole took his adorable wife on 15th May, 2015. As much as I tried to unravel the puzzle that has remained unsolved till date, the more I see the complexities in human physiology. But those who apply the inelegant traits in human relations as a desirable outcome, are often those who brook no nonsense when dealing with situations. The realities of financial proclivity that would be unravelled by the time Obaseki exited would further justify the reason for this desperation. From the alleged sales of Edo state shares in BUA Cement, Okpella, to the unwholesome dealings of Ossiomo Independent Power Plant, from the failed Gelegele Port project where millions have allegedly been drained, to the Industrial Park that has been overtaken by weeds, Edo people would be served a hollywood exposé of monumental corruption and malfeasance like never before. From monies that were taken under dubious headings to prosecute the removal of Oshiomhole, to the sales of Edo state shares in Azura Power Plant, from illicit transactions in the Ogbe stadium project and how monies released were allegedly frittered away by relatives of principal officers of government in the name of consultancy, Edo people would watch the archetypal documentation of a ninth day wonder. It is all these that are bothering Godwin Obaseki, not Ize-Iyamu or Oshiomhole.

Edo state has been abandoned like one uninhabited village square littered with refuse and garbage as though there is no leadership in place. Benin City is presently a dumpsite, no thanks to the many refuses that have overtaken major streets in the City. Too much politics and no governance. When the clouds are gathering, preparing for rains of blessings, the people lament because of flooding and erosion that would immediately make life difficult for them. Drains are blocked. Flooding and erosion projects have been suspended, while the people agonise over safety of lives and properties. Refuse dumps everywhere also create its own health hazard in a state that has only two surgeons, where new Doctors have not been recruited in four years, where nurses have not been recruited and the only nursing school also closed down. The Tayo Akpata University of Education, Ekiadolor, that should be producing teachers to service our Primary and Secondary schools, have been shut down for three years with 11 months salaries being owed. The state Colleges of Agriculture in Iguoriakhi and Agenebode have been closed for three years, yet, the government talks about its agricultural policy as second to none. The primary healthcare project has been a snail run, while the roads infrastructure have amounted to mere window dressing. When a Governor realises that people would know the rotten underbelly of his government, he would deploy the worst form of anger to drive his campaign. That has been the Obaseki style.

The latest lethargic content of a drowning government yielded itself so easily on Saturday, July 25th, when Governor Obaseki accompanied his guests to see the revered Oba of Benin. Like a man destined for his last days, he forgot tradition befitting of a Royal Visit. He reportedly forgot to carry the colanut that would have been used to pass royal blessing to him. The visit ended up as a celebration of Nyesom Wike, who accorded the great Oba of Benin, a befitting reception when the latter visited him in Port Harcourt. The highly respected Oba of Benin, a consummate diplomat, who created a niche for himself when he represented Nigeria in different countries as our ambassador with a touch of royalty, laced with uncommon panache, understood the gaps so well. When a child knows how to wash his hands well and clean, he will dine with Kings and Royals. Aside from the condemnable booing of his PDP guests and chieftains, the whole atmosphere outside the Palace Ground was that of rejection. Who knows whether the ancestors were angry with Godwin Obaseki that day? The repriesal attacks were undesirable in every material particular. That is what you get when your days are numbered in the corridor of power.

The quarelsomeness, combativeness, showmanship, and arrogance of power within Obaseki's fold has created a bifocal image between promise and actual performance. It has now become a matter of whether to save Obaseki or to save the state. Abdulazeez Bouteflika of Algeria faced similar scenario when the morning of his grip on power came slowing down to evening, before nightfall. The Algerian Army had a choice between saving the aged Bouteflika and his inner circle of family members and friends or saving the entire Algerian nation from implosion as a result of waning influence. Every day that an appointee resigns from Obaseki's government, it sends a message of rejection. Every time appointment letters are torn in broad day light, it conveys an impression about the waning grip of Obaseki on the levers of power. Once mutual suspicion becomes the undercurrent theme, trust is broken, and everyone is seen as a foe. But because power has its own allure, its inducement, and therapeutic properties, it is often difficult for reason to prevail in the minds of those who want to sustain power at all cost. When their political urchins come with their praise singing, invoking incantations of praise on nothingness, they swell the head of their benefactor. When defeat comes staring them in the face, their eye balls get sunken, the drumbeats become hollow, noises are not heard and wailings, like winsome coquette, are silenced in the sacks of failure. That seems the only route for Obaseki as his days in power, in an era of volumptuous security votes, are surely numbered on the pages of electoral votes.

Thousands of Edo youths under the aegis of the ‘Edo Youth Solidarity Movement’ have backed the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and expressed confidence that his SIMPLE agenda manifesto will create jobs and improve the economy of the State when implemented.

They said this when delegates of the group visited the candidate in his private residence with fanfare to announce their endorsement of his governorship bid.

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, alongside his running mate, Mallam Gani Audu, and other leaders of the party including former Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, DG APC Campaign Council, Gen. Cecil Esekhaigbe, Vice-Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, APC National Campaign Council, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, received the youths.

https://leadership.ng/2020/07/28/edo-2020-ize-iyamus-promise-to-create-jobs-excites-edo-youth/

BREAKING: 7 out of 12 Councillors dump Godwin Obaseki for Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the governor's native Oredo Local Government Council including Ward 4 which is Governor Obaseki's Ward.
This is another sign of Victory for Pastor Ize iyamu! #poisimpleagenda.

We need a competent and purposeful government that can formulate the appropriate policies, create the framework and design programs to empower our youths.

VOTE Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for Governor of Edo State & Mallam Gani Audu for Deputy-Governor.

#PastorOsagieIzeIyamu
#SimpleAgenda
#Edo2020

Edo Oil and Gas Commissioners Who Dumped Obaseki Meet Ize-Iyamu, Pledge Support, Lampoon Obaseki Over Deceit and Fraud

The Commissioners representing the three Senatorial Districts of Edo State in the Edo State Oil Gas Producing Area Commission (EDOSOPADEC) who announced their resignation on Monday have paid a visit to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu at his campaign office in Benin where they pledged their solidarity and condemned Governor Godwin Obaseki for his deception, fraud, and lack of empathy.

At the meeting, Prince Emmanuel Odigie of Edo Central Senatorial District, Rilwanu Oshiomhole of Edo North, and Osamwonyi Atu of Orhionmwon all jointly condemned the Obaseki-administration for disempowering the Commission with the incessant diversion of funds meant for projects.

Prince Emmanuel Odigie of Esan land, Edo Central accused the Governor of being dangerously over-ambitious and without love or empathy for those he was elected to lead. He criticized Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s repeated threats to ‘crush’ anyone not supportive of his personal political choice and victimization of elected officials who have refused to join him in the PDP as a vicious display of tyranny detrimental to growth and development.

He also said the Governor’s touted ‘Esan agenda’ is a deceitful plan designed only to obtain votes.

“Which Esan person has he empowered in his government or given relevance? All his promises to the people have gone unfulfilled. Instead of focusing on governance, he is doing everything to bring every Edo person down. The people of Esan can see through the ruse and deception,” he said.

*Osamwonyi Atu of Orhionmwon lamented the lack of development in the region despite its status as a major oil-producer in the State. He expressed regret working for Governor Godwin Obaseki, stating that his resignation and resolve to back the bid of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is borne from the desire to put an end to Obaseki’s non-performance and vindictive governance.

Rilwanu Oshiomhole of Edo North also criticized Obaseki’s castigation of individuals instead of focusing on governance and policies, stating that his administration has abandoned the people.

On his part, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, while receiving them, described their courageous resignation as a “milestone in the journey to move Edo state forward, change the present deceitful government, and install a government that will truly represent the people.”

He said the present situation in the State where people are abandoning the Government in drove, as opposed to the familiar event of jostling for appointments, is an indication that Mr. Godwin Obaseki has failed and is set for an embarrassing defeat at the polls on the 19th of September.

In his words, “I salute the courage of these men who heeded the call of their conscience and placed their integrity over office to resign from a government that is insincere, fraudulent, and deceitful.”

“I know that in their usual practice of castigating and smearing the image of people not supportive of their plan to foist themselves on the State for another term, the State Government will likely commence the spread of baseless reports claiming that these men were induced to make the decision they made.”

“But as they can testify to everyone here, this is the first time I am meeting with them in a long while. Their decision to resign was made on their own accord based on their integrity and unwillingness to be a part of a government without profitable plans for their people.”

“I thank Prince Emmanuel Odigie for the revelations he has made today, especially on the deceitful ‘Esan agenda’ that the incumbent is bandying. A governor that does not respect the Esan people or empower them, is that the Governor who will hand over power to them?”

Pastor Ize-Iyamu promised to work with the former Commissioners as they, on their part, also vowed to reveal more facts about the fraudulent ways of the incumbent Governor.