Obaseki: I didn’t betray Oshomhle, I helped him become governor in 2007 and national chairman of APC.

Ebun Francis| Embattled governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday pushed back against allegations that he betrayed his predecessor in office, Adams Oshiomhole, insisting he helped the former labour leader become governor in 2007 and national chairman of the ruling APC in 2018.

Obaseki made the disclosure while speaking with reporters after submitting his nomination and expression of interest forms for the 2020 governorship election in Abuja, stating that it is wrong for people to say he betrayed Oshiomhole.

Obaseki who said he not only helped Oshiomhole into power but also made sacrifices to ensure he emerged national chairman of the ruling party asked the APC national chairman to recuse himself from the Edo governorship primary election process.

Obaseki said, “In life, everybody gets helped, everybody gets assisted. The person you talked about (Oshiomhole), he had no money when he left labour to contest. We knew what we did to make him Governor.”

“I sacrificed eight years of my life pro bono, I collected no kobo to serve him in Edo. Today, we know what we have built because of where we started from. So, when you talk of betrayal, the biggest betrayal can be when people betray a cause, when they betray an idea.

“So, when you talk about betrayal, let us be very clear. I want to put it on record that I am grateful, he assisted me just as I assisted him. I know the sacrifices we made to make him national chairman.”

“I am using this opportunity to call on Comrade Oshiomhole to recuse himself from the Edo nomination process because he is an interested party,” Obaseki said.

“It is against natural justice for a man to be a judge in his own case. So I think the honourable thing to do is to recuse himself and let us have a free process and let us reconcile and build our party.

“I believe that ours is a lawful party and we will do things according to the Constitution of our party. So, direct or indirect, I am certain I will win the primaries but we have to respect our constitution and follow our constitution,” he concluded.