Edo 2020: Oshiomole’s war against Obaseki worsening as he insists his NWC has final say on aspirants’ credentials

*Oshiomhole sponsored protests against Obaseki in Abuja — Shaibu

In a mood that looks much like he is up to something with the screening committee he set up to determine who among aspirants will be cleared to contest this year’s governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, has vowed that there will be no other way except that the National Working Committee (NWC) final say is final on aspirants’ credentials.

Recall that Oshiomole already declared that the first degree of University of Ibadan, presented by his enstranged ‘godson’ is fake.

That was declaration by the former eight-year term governor who, on his presentation for security and House of Assembly screenings, Obaseki served for eight years as a vital commissioner in Edo State before he still went ahead, outsmarting other intending aspirants to choose the same Obaseki as the ‘best’ candidate for the party for the 2016 governorship election on the platform of APC in the state.

The national leadership of APC Tuesday set up a committee to screen its six governorship aspirants in Edo State, saying without prejudice to the work of the committee and that of the Screening Appeals Panel, the National Working Committee (NWC) has the final say on the fate of the aspirants.

Also in Abuja, the crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State festered Tuesday, with the Deputy Governor, Mr Philip Shaibu, accusing the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of instigating and sponsoring protests in Abuja against Governor Godwin Obaseki over alleged certificate forgery.

Although a particular chieftain of the party denied Oshiomole he knows could not sponsor such protests, utterances coming directly from the person of the national chairman presented a betrayal of that trust the chieftain reposes in him.

This is as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who many are now viewing as taking side with personal decisions of Oshiomole, warned all parties in the state same day not to expose its staff to danger, urging them to shun acts to the contrary.

According to the party, the screening and appeals committees which consist of academics, lawyers and politicians, will help forestall a repeat of the Bayelsa experience, where it lost its mandate due to alleged discrepancies in the certificates of the party’s deputy governorship candidate.

Inaugurating both committees yesterday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, its National Chairman, Oshiomhole said while the screening committee would act as the High Court, the appeals committee would serve as appellate court, while the NWC would act as the Supreme Court.

He said: “The NWC can reject the screening result. Screening Committee is High Court, Appeal Committee, Appeal Court and the NWC, the Supreme Court.”

Oshiomhole expressed misgivings at the Supreme Court judgment which disqualified the APC deputy governorship candidate for Bayelsa, after he had earlier been sworn in as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He said: “After intensive consultations, we decided to have people who in our own judgment are sound and when they go through this process, their recommendations will be very helpful. Under our rules, we are expected to set up a screening committee before every election.

“The responsibility of the screening committee is to interact with all those who have aspirations to contest, strictly speaking, not yet aspirants. You become an aspirant after the screening committee has passed you.
“If anybody is dissatisfied with the screening committee’s recommendation, he/she will file an appeal and it will be forwarded to the Appeals Committee and after that, they will make a final recommendation to the NWC that has the final decision as to who is eligible or who is not eligible.”

While he named Professor Jonathan Ayuba as Chairman, Screening Committee, Prof. Abubakar Fari will chair the Appeals Committee.

Other members of the screening committee are Prof. Agbo Madaki, Ibrahim Zailani, Senator Aishatu Ahmed, Dr. Jane- Frances Agbu, Fort Dike and Dr. Rabe Nasir, who would serve as Secretary.

For the Appeals Committee, its members are Prof. Sadeeque Abba, Gbenga Olubajo, Mohammed Idris, Esther Bepeh and Daniel Bwala, who would serve as Secretary.

Oshiomole sponsored Abuja protests

Also in Abuja, the crisis in the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State festered yesterday, with the Deputy Governor, Mr Philip Shaibu, accusing the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of instigating and sponsoring protests in Abuja against Governor Godwin Obaseki over alleged certificate forgery.

However, a chieftain of the APC and an associate of the national chairman, Victor Oshioke, described the allegation as frivolous.

But Shaibu in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Benjamin Atu, in Benin yesterday, said: “The truth is that Obaseki has the goodwill of the President. He has exceeded expectations in terms of performance in office.

“They have no other way to tarnish his image; they, therefore, decided to sponsor protest to create false impression. The protest is the handiwork of the APC National Chairman. The faces may be different but the sponsor is the same.

“It was alleged that the governor had no certificate and now that the certificate of the governor has been made public, they have shifted their accusation from no certificate to the next level of questioning the number of credits awarded in the certificate.

“The question that should be asked is if Obaseki has certificate or not. Did the Nigerian Constitution mention the number of sittings or the number of subjects one must pass in the school certificate exams before he can qualify to contest as governor?

“Leading a state is different from leading a mob and the earlier Oshiomhole assumes his rightful position as national leader and not as a sectional chairman, the better for him.

“What is the scale of evaluation upon which the National Chairman of the APC is standing to question the certificate of Edo State governor?

“In the first instance, Obaseki wouldn’t have emerged as governor of Edo State in 2016, if he had no certificate. Oshiomhole wouldn’t have also insisted that Obaseki must be the governor if he knew he had no requisite certificate.

“In Nigeria, the requirement to contest for the position of governor is a WAEC certificate. The constitution didn’t specify the number of subjects or the grades in such subjects for the purpose of evaluation.

“In order to put the record straight, it has been clearly stated that the governor proceeded to the Institute of Continuing Education, ICE, Benin City, before furthering his education. The law didn’t require the governor to tender all his certificates but only his WAEC certificate.

“The problem is that Oshiomhole has elevated sycophancy to an art. The task of governing requires that he maintain a cool mien to enable him carry out the affairs of the party.

“But rather than being a National Chairman, he has chosen to be a sectional leader, instigating crisis in a party he was elected to model.

“As at today, Godwin Obaseki is qualified to contest as governor because nobody went to write an examination for him like other aspirants who used mercenaries in acquiring their educational certificates,” he said.