Senator Sandy Onor has criticised Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, for dragging Cross River State into his rift with the Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Onor representing Cross River Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly said in an interview on Monday that Obaseki was being economical with the truth and displayed ignorance when he accused Wike of being responsible for the exit of the Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, from the PDP.
Obaseki and his Rivers State counterpart, Wike, both of the Peoples Democratic Party, are currently at daggers drawn over purported verbal attacks on the deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu by the latter for threatening to quit the party if their supporters were not integrated fully into the PDP.
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In fact, Onor said Wike was more interested in building, strengthening and uniting the PDP in all parts of the country, as demonstrated when he fought hard to ensure victory for the party in Edo State, at a time that Obaseki was gasping for breath.
Describing Obaseki as an ingrate for using derogatory words on Wike, Onor said contrary to Obaseki’s insinuation, the party in Cross River was waxing stronger and doing very well after the exit of Ayade.
Obaseki had pilloried Wike for descending on his deputy, Philip Shaibu, saying that Edo State could not be procured by Wike, even as he accused Wike of being an interloper.
He had also said Wike’s touted presidential ambition may have been responsible for his recent actions in some of the states.
Reacting to Obaseki’s diatribe against Wike, Onor said Obaseki was not just a traitor but a power monger who was desirous of controlling the PDP structures in Edo State through the back door.
According to him, Obaseki “is an ingrate. He should be completely ashamed of himself for attempting to bite the finger that fed him when he was at his lowest ebb politically.”
“The road to his emergence as governor is known across the nation. Wike was harassed by federal authorities and threatened. Yet, he stood his grounds. He was chairman of the campaign organisation, spent money on the election, went there physically and directed affairs. At that time, Wike was good; a great hero for Edo people, for himself and for the PDP.
“But now he wants the same PDP and the structures with which he rode to power to be dismantled because he has emerged leader of the party. Gov Obaseki should bury his face in shame and learn to show gratitude to people who helped him ascend the rungs of power. That is how to be an example in leadership.”
Onor lamented that Obaseki was in a hurry to take over the entire structure of the PDP in Edo State, not minding what the people thought about his poor leadership style. The Edo governor, Onor said, had not lived by example, yet he wants to coerce the party into handing over the structures to him.
He said “Obaseki wants to control by force, the direction of the politics of Edo people and the direction of the politics of PDP. He has not lived by example enough to have the people naturally follow him. So, he is not legitimate and he wants to acquire that legitimacy through the backdoor.”
On the allegation that Wike was trying to destroy Edo State PDP because of his presidential ambition, Onor quipped, saying “Wike has not declared for president yet. When he chooses to declare, it will be a legitimate aspiration because in all honesty and modesty, nobody has staked his resources, his time, his energy, his life for the PDP the way Governor Wike has done.
“If he has friends in Edo as he has in Cross River and other places, where he is a legitimate stakeholder by dint of his exemplary and unequalled support for the party, what is irregular about that? If Obaseki has someone he wants to support for presidency, let him set up his own structures through generosity, through the right leadership and so on. He should not be blowing hot air on a matter that is very clear.
“He (Obaseki) is completely ignorant about the political dynamics of Cross River. If he is following what is going on, he will know that the PDP is better off now without Ayade.
“Ayade left the PDP in Cross River because of his own contradictions, high handedness and lack of collaboration with other leaders. That is why he left. Ayade forced himself out because he was a one man band. He has gone to APC and replicated the same thing and if you monitor what is happening in the APC in Cross River, then you will understand why Ayade left.
“So, to say that Wike caused him to leave and destroyed the PDP in Cross River is completely out of sync with the reality of the situation on the ground and the last elections in cross river demonstrated so. There were three LGAs and we won out rightly in two out of the three local government areas.
The Senator lamented that Obaseki was naturally ungrateful. “If you watched the interview granted by (Ayo) Fayose when Obaseki went to Wike to seek his support for the election, Fayose had said that this man has a history of treachery, that he does not see him keeping any agreement.
”In appointing his commissioners, he violated all the agreements reached with the structures that helped him to power and he wants that same structure to be dismantled even against the law and morality. What a man! He should leave Cross River State alone and focus on his Edo. We are fine in Cross River, waxing stronger and stronger.”
