A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Senator Roland Owie, is not on the same page with other leaders of the party on the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr.Godwin Obaseki, in Wednesday’s governorship election.
While the generality of PDP leaders have alleged manipulation of the election result in favour of the APC, Owie, Senate Chief Whip in the Second Republic and PDP elder in the state, said Obaseki deserved victory.
He said the PDP could not have won with the way former Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih, was playing god and imposing candidates at will.
Anenih, he said, was wrong “to impose the deputy governor slot on Esan people after what he did with the governorship slot.”
Anenih is from Uromi in Esanland.
Continuing, Owie said: “Any leader who takes political decisions on selfish interests gets destroyed at the end. Such leader is like a spider. Whatever a spider eats turns to poison.
“Why on earth will Chief Anenih impose a deputy governor on Esan people after what he did with the governorship slot?
“He has been playing god and now God has told him that all powers belong to God.”
He was even more damning in his assessment of the votes garnered by the PDP in the election.
His words: “The higher percentage of the votes our PDP got in this election were votes against hunger and hardship brought by the APC federal government and not for the PDP.”
“I hope Chief Anenih will enter his house now and allow people of goodwill to re-organise the PDP. I congratulate Godwin Obaseki and not the APC, because there is hunger and hardship in the land.”
Chief Anenih, who is fondly called Mr. Fix-it by his admirers on account of his political dexterity, is the PDP leader in the state.
Soon after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr. Obaseki winner on Thursday, Governor Adams Oshiomhole named Anenih as one of the political godfathers humbled by the APC victory.
He said: “In Esanland, the senatorial zone of the PDP godfather, we won two out of the five local governments.
“We gave him a fight that he managed to escape. He used the factor of his age to play on the emotion of the people.
“Edo people are now proud they can now determine who rules them and no one godfather can choose a leader for them.”
THE NATION
