Ize-Iyamu is a bad product that won’t sell, says Wike

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the forthcoming Edo election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, as “a bad product that won’t sell.”

Wike, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Campaign Council in Edo State, in a statement signed by his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said the erstwhile National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, had explicitly exposed the true identity of Ize-Iyamu.

But in a swift reaction, the APC in Edo State said the real bad product is the dying PDP and its band of tax-collectors as described by the same man (Wike) who alerted the world to how the leaders of his party sold its ticket to Obaseki.

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The APC in a statement signed by the Chairman, Edo State APC Media Campaign Council, Prince John Mayaki, said the PDP are stuck with a man they roundly condemned as a failure. “The verdict of the PDP on the third anniversary of Obaseki’s administration is available for all to read.”

Wike had said that it was an insult to the people of Edo State for the ex-APC chairman to reverse his earlier position and ask the electorates to accept such a man.

The governor, according to the statement, spoke (monitored by Daily Times) during an interview with a national television network in the state. Wike said he drew his conclusion from the analysis of facts deducted from the previous governorship election in the state.

He said: “Adams Oshiomhole told Edo people that Ize-Iyamu was rusticated from school that he poured acid on a fellow student that destroyed his manhood. That he is an armed robber that cannot be trusted with money, such a character cannot be accepted by Edo people as governor during the election.

“I respect the Benin tradition and I know that Edo people are educated to know that Oshiomhole cannot play on their intelligence. If he is now retracting what he said of Ize-Iyamu, who is sure that he’s saying the correct thing now.”

However, the APC described Obaseki as a failure, saying, “To quote Dan Orbih who is Wike’s stooge and the then PDP chairman directly, he said ‘the governor has not delivered on the 200,000 jobs he promised youths in Edo State. Our roads are begging for attention. There is worsening insecurity, in spite of the huge amount of security vote he withdraws monthly.’

 “We believe Nigerians know not to take the likes of Wike seriously. His interest in Edo State is very curious. Why did he reverse his decision to hands off when his attempt to nominate Dan Orbih as Obaseki’s running mate was rebuffed by the PDP tax collectors after money exchanged hands?

 “Governor Nyesom Wike’s reckless outbursts and mouth diarrhea which saw him disparage his state’s traditional rulers have already discredited him before well-meaning Nigerians. He is inconsequential in Edo State and his endless rants are of no effect.

 “Pastor Ize-Iyamu continues to enjoy the goodwill of Edo people as seen in the rising number of endorsements recorded daily. It is of no doubt, at this point, that he is going to win the election by a landslide.”