The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says the former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, does not have the moral standing to tell Edo people not to vote for Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Wike, who is also the chairman of PDP National Campaign Council for the Edo 2020 Governorship Election, said the purported issue of Obaseki’s secondary school certificate does not hold water.
He was reacting to comments by Oshiomhole during the flag-off of the APC Governorship Campaign in Edo State.
The governor berated the former APC national chairman for his continued claims that Obaseki was not a graduate even when the University of Ibadan had affirmed that he graduated from the institution.
Wike challenged Oshiomhole to present his academic certificates to Edo people rather than advising them to shun a candidate he claimed to be the brain-box of his erstwhile administration’s achievements.
“The certificate claims about Governor Obaseki by the former APC national chairman is a non-issue because he is the best candidate for Edo State.
“It is unfortunate that we are in a country that somebody that does not have a certificate will question the one that has.
“Oshiomhole has trade test which is not an academic qualification. I challenge him to show the world his academic qualification.
“This same man he said has three credits was his brain-box when he was in government. So, is it not better for Edo people to support a man that has three credits than to follow someone, whom he said, was a cultist and fake pastor who destroyed the manhood of his fellow man?
“Oshiomhole is trying to tell Edo people that whatever he decides is what will be, and this is an opportunity for Edo people to say: ‘No’.
“His claim that if APC losses the election, they will secure the mandate through the courts, is a total confirmation that the party cannot win the Edo election through the ballot box.
“Securing victory through the courts will be null and void as there are still judges in Nigeria with conscience who cannot dance to the tune of the APC,” he stated.
On the claims that President Muhammadu Buhari endorsed the APC Governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Wike challenged APC supporters to show evidence where the President announced that he has endorsed a man who is facing corruption charges before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said that the absence of the President and Vice President at the flag-off of the APC Governorship campaign was a confirmation that Ize-Iyamu does not have their support.
On the comments by the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the action of Obaseki on the Edo State House of Assembly crisis was wrong, Wike stated that he was surprised at his comments.
“Tinubu is one man that I have great respect for; so, when I read the newspapers, I was taken aback. It is unfortunate that members that were not inaugurated can turn around to illegally impeach people.
“What Governor Obaseki did is what any chief security officer should do. It is justifiable in order to avoid chaos,” he added.