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Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has denied plotting to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) for another party.
An online news governorship aspirant of the APC, Major General Charles Airhiavbere (Rtd) had accused Gov Obaseki of plotting to dump the party.
The former military general said Obaseki wants to join another party because he has realised that the APC may not give him its ticket to contest for re-election.
“It has been all over the place that he (Obaseki) has been trying to cross carpet, trying to look for a soft landing but his main assets which are the APC leaders; he has left them in disarray,” he said.
Reacting through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki described Airhiavbere’s allegation as a lie from the pit of hell.
“Governor Obaseki is firmly rooted in the party in the state. He has recorded 100 per cent in his political career. He is performing. He is the leader of the party, he controls the party so who will he leave the party for?
“That allegation is a complete lie from the pit of hell. Governor Godwin Obaseki has a very robust relationship with the presidency and his party at the centre.
“His party is the ruling party in the state and at the centre so where is he leaving to and why should he leave? The good records of Obaseki cannot be compared to that Airhiavbere,” Osagie said.
He mocked Airhiavbere, saying the former military general has not won any election even when he was the candidate of another party.
Earlier, Governor Obaseki has said nobody can stop his second term ambition to rule Edo State, said he deserved a second term to continue the developmental strides he started in his first term emphasizing that ‘Second term for me is not negotiable”.
The governor disclosed this when he received members of the Benin Unity League at Government House in Benin City recently.
Mr Obaseki said: “I have said it clearly and I told my cabinet yesterday that second term for me is not negotiable.
“I am demanding it because I deserve it and I think I have earned it. We need to have it so we can continue what we are doing today.”
The governor said no one individual can determine who will become governor, noting that only God and the people can make the decision.
“I want to assure you that this is a fight that we will prevail. We will fight and succeed.
“If anybody thinks I will back out, he must be day dreaming because it is not my fight, it is about fight for the right thing and cause.
“I am not going to back off because I know victory is sure,” the governor said.
Mr Obaseki said nobody had accused him of implementing a wrong policy, adding that the accusations had been on but not focusing on stomach infrastructure.