Governor Godwin Obaseki has dismissed any speculation of discord with his deputy, Hon Philip Shaibu, affirming his support for Shaibu’s gubernatorial ambition if he emerges as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.
Obaseki made these remarks following a gathering at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, where the National Working Committee (NWC) met with stakeholders from the Edo State Chapter.
The gathering, aimed at tackling internal party dynamics and planning for the imminent elections, occurs amid perceptions of discord between Obaseki and his deputy regarding the latter’s ambition to succeed him.
Speaking after the meeting, Obaseki when asked about the state of his relationship with Shaibu, his deputy, said
“There is no issue between me and my deputy and he is here, he wants to contest and we are not asking him to drop his ambition. He is free-born of Edo state and he can contest.”
When asked if would support Shaibu to become the next governor, Obaseki said “I will support whoever the party supports.”
On his part, the national chairman of the party, Amb Umar Iliya Damagum, said “We have agreed to work together as one family and we will go further to break the meeting into smaller committees so that at the end of the day, we will come out with a better solution. But in conclusion, Edo now is one family.”
Regarding the perceived disagreement between the governor and his deputy, the national chairman said, “We are talking about an election here and you are talking about issues between the governor and his deputy. There was no issue.”
One of the aspirants present at the meeting, Asue Ighodalo, expressed contentment with the proceedings, describing it as a “very fruitful family meeting” with a focus on unity.
Ighodalo stressed the importance of unity and conveyed optimism regarding the party’s outlook in the forthcoming elections.
“The PDP is set to win the next election in the state by the grace of God Almighty. The leadership of the party all spoke well and in line with unity for the party. We are all very happy coming out of that meeting,” he declared.
In response to the party’s expectations, Ighodalo pledged to uphold continuous excellent governance for Edo State while advocating for a cohesive and robust party.
When asked about his prospects of obtaining the party ticket, he shifted the focus to the essential requirement of maintaining party unity.
“That is in God Almighty’s hands.
What we are most concerned about now is the unity of the party,” he asserted.
“I don’t think that anybody is directly thinking about that issue now.
Fundamentally, the party stays united and strong.
That is what we are all focusing on, that is what everybody attending the meeting is focusing on.”
Kanyi Daily recalls that Asue Ighodalo, former Chairman of Nigeria Breweries Plc, asserts himselfas the most qualified candidate to succeed Godwin Obaseki.
