Obaseki: ‘If Oshiomhole doesn’t stay on his lane, I’ll show no mercy’

Oshiomhole was instrumental to Obaseki’s election for a first term in office in 2016, but the relationship between both men soured sometime in 2018.

Obaseki orchestrated Oshiomhole’s disqualification from the APC--a move that ensured that Oshiomhole eventually lost a lucrative position as National Chairman of the APC.

On his part, Oshiomhole made sure Obaseki got disqualified from seeking re-election on the APC platform.

Obaseki dumped the APC as soon as he was denied the party's ticket and rushed to the PDP for a lifeline. The PDP handed Obaseki its governorship ticket on a platter for his troubles.

On September 19, 2020, Obaseki was re-elected governor on the PDP platform.

Lions and tigers

Asked on AriseTV if he intends to chase Oshiomhole out of town now that he’s secured re-election, Obaseki said; "If he (Oshiomhole) continues to behave the way he’s always done, if he continues to be disruptive, if he continues to fund his lions and tigers in Edo State and tries to create problems for us here, then we’ll not have any mercy. It’s totally up to him.

Godwin Obaseki made the switch to the PDP in June [Twitter/@GovernorObaseki] Pulse Nigeria

“As we say in Edo, everybody should now maintain his lane. He should maintain his lane as whatever he is and I’d maintain mine.”

ALSO READ: The humiliation and downfall of Adams Oshiomhole [Pulse Editor’s Opinion]

Obaseki also extended an olive branch the way of his opponent in the election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Ize-Iyamu is yet to concede the election and congratulate Obaseki, but the governor considers him a great guy who has been ill advised and misled by the likes of Oshiomhole.

In his congratulatory message immediately after the election, President Muhammadu Buhari called on Obaseki to be magnanimous in victory.

“I’d be magnanimous if he (Ize-Iyamu) comes through,” Obaseki said. “I don’t think the problem is Pastor Ize-Iyamu. I know him well. He is a pastor and I am a Christian.

“I think the problems are factors outside of him--the people who lured him into the contest. Between myself and Ize-Iyamu, there are no issues at all. The day he calls on what to do moving forward, I’m sure we’d be able to have our conversation.

“But there are people who work with him, who know what they have done, who know that they have been vicious and very evil. I’d be surprised if those ones have the courage to even say they want reconciliation or that they want to move forward.

Osagie Ize-Iyamu (right) and Adams Oshiomhole (left) during the campaigns [Twitter/@PastorIzeIyamu] Pulse Nigeria

“For someone like Oshiomhole, clearly when you find that you have been deceived, you don’t share the same values, you don’t trust at all, it is his responsibility to build back that trust, show you his true self and prove that his values align with what we represent as a people or what we want to do as a government,” Obaseki said.

Obaseki tears into Tinubu

National leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, called on the people of Edo to reject Obaseki, in a viral video issued hours before the election.

Obaseki said Tinubu should have known that he has no such right and that his title of ‘national leader of the APC’ isn’t even recognised by the party’s constitution.

“The challenge with people like Oshiomhole and Ahmed Tinubu is that unless they change their style and attitude, they pose a big danger to our democracy because they are extra constitutional players.

“They’ve constituted themselves into what they say they are, without any constitutional responsibilities and trying to lord themselves over people who have constitutional authority. And if we allow them to continue in that mould, they will destroy our democracy.

President Muhammadu Buhari and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. [Twitter/@Buharisallau1] Pulse Nigeria

“You cannot have people who have been elected, guided by the constitution in office and people who don’t have that mandate or authority or checks on their conduct come and say they want to upset or control people who have been elected into office.

“They cannot sit in the comfort of their homes or wherever and determine who gets what, who gets into what offices and when those people get into those offices, determine how they should conduct themselves. It’s very anti-democratic,” he said.

Obaseki defeated closest challenger Ize-Iyamu with close to 90,000 votes.