.......plans court actions, white paper against Oshiomhole
Governor Godwin Obaseki is planning an eleventh-hour weekend visit to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in Lagos to plead for the adoption of indirect primary as the party’s rolls out plan to elect its representatives in the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
The embattled governor who has seen his influence wane within and outside is the state intends to persuade the National Leader with the false claim that over 20 Governors are backing his re-election bid after initial lies of endorsement by President Buhari collapsed and earned him strong consternation from the Presidency, sources say.
Meanwhile, as an alternative action, he is also reportedly lining up lawyers to challenge his inevitable defeat in court, hoping to stall the election or jeopardize the party’s chances as a vengeful act for rejecting him despite weeks of intense lobbying in Abuja that has taken a huge toll on the treasury of Edo state where Obaseki is sourcing funds from without Exco council approval.
He is expected to pick up the form indicating his interest next week after the trip to Asiwaju in Lagos from Abuja.
Those close to him say he has worn a forlorn look indicative of his realization that his plans may have caved in.
Dissatisfied with the swift dismissal of the biased inquiry report on the Benin Specialist Hospital presented by a Commission he set up with the singular objective of smearing the name of Oshiomhole, he is now putting together another white paper against the National Chairman that will be published next week, according to inside sources.
The white paper, similar to the dismissed inquiry report, is likely to contain calculated falsehood intended to embarrass the National Chairman whom he blames for his woes.
Nevertheless, party members in Edo State are now preparing for life after Obaseki beginning with a primary where he will be replaced with another candidate. They have expressed their commitment to a peaceful process, irrespective of the planned attempt by Obaseki to provoke chaos and panic following his failure to get his indirect primary request.
Recall that it had been earlier reported that Governor Obaseki is also contemplating colluding with officials of the NDDC to inflate the number of persons infected with COVID-19 in the state as a ploy to force the hands of INEC and APC into choosing an indirect primary.
An indirect primary system where only a handful of delegates are selected to elect the party’s representatives is considered preferable by Obaseki because that allows him to focus on the named delegates and influence their votes through a combination of inducement, intimidation, and state harassment.
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