By Austin Ogwuda
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Edo State, Mr. Pedro Obaseki has lamented that the reconciliation drive embarked upon after the party was humiliated during the last election by the Labour Party was suffering a setback following the ongoing faceoff between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu.
Pedro stated this today during an interactive session at the popular Arise Television, ‘The Morning Show’ programme anchored by Reuben Abati and co-presenters, monitored by The Town Hall Media.
When asked what has the Party done in terms of intervention, Pedro said, “I am a chieftain of the PDP both within the State and the federal level.
We have been trying in the last few months particularly as a fallout of our loss to the Obedient Movement within the State we have been trying to put all parties together again.
Am talking about reconciliation among the PDP family.
“But this one (crisis) has thrown a spanner into the reconciliation wheel. I just hope that both of them should sheathe sword, particularly the deputy governor because we have to be frank.
“The deputy governor was the one who went to the public with a blazing gown, going to court asking for interim injunction; now they want to ask for interlocutory injunction to stop his purported impeachment, which is unknown to Law.
“So, I feel that the two of them have had baths in the shower together once upon a time, they can find a way so as not
to continue to make Edo State a laughing stock or continuous ending melodrama in the Nigerian political space”.
Outspoken Pedro Obaseki, a younger brother to the governor further told the television audience that the genesis of the faceoff was traceable to the politicking that preceded the inauguration of the present House of Assembly in the State.
Said he, “the real distancing started with the constitution of the present House of Assembly that was June 2023.
“Everybody in the State who knows what is going down knew that the deputy governor wanted to install a Speaker, who happened to be not the others including the governor and the party structure wanted.
“And if you trace the history of the relationship of Godwin (governor) and Philip (deputy governor) as against the backdrop of the problems PDP has been having, many felt that Philip might have been maybe the finger on the triggers that caused the entire problem Edo State is having with the PDP”.
He concluded by saying that “the only problem going forward is that if they don’t sheathe the sword now, some persons including Philip might be the collateral victims because the governor is not going to run again but Philip wants to run and the forces within the State are against his running. That’s the statement of fact”.