Obaseki Should Look Unto Edo People Not Me – Oshiomiole
Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomiole has said his successor, Godwin Obaseki’s loyalty should be to the people of Edo and not him.
According to him, nothing in Obaseki’s oath office will include ‘I shall not betray my predecessor’ because he has no interest to be betrayed.
Speaking to State House Correspondents on Monday at the presidential Villa, Oshiomiole said conflict would only arise when he refuses to accept that when his tenure is over, it is really over.
He said, “That is very important if you say he will not disappoint me, I am not the state, I am only one out of about four million Edo people. So his obligation and his loyalty should be to the people of Edo State.
“The oath of office he is going to subscribe to says that he will defend the constitution of nigeria, he will do everything to uplift the quality of life of Edo people. Nothing in his oath office will include ‘I shall not betray my predecessor’ because I have no interest to be betrayed.
” For me, I have presided over Nigeria Labour Congress for eight years and I had a successor, there was no story of me having conflict with my predecessor. Because conflict only arise when you receive to accept that when your tenure is over, it is over.
On allegations that he took over the campaign of Obaseki he said ;And as for campaign, and this is the problem, the media picks the negatives from the mouth of those who are the least competent. That I campaigned for him, I was this I was that. That is the way it should be.
“Look at what is going on in the US, is Obama not vigorously campaigning for Clinton, is Obama’s wife, the First Lady of US is she not as vigorous perhaps much more than Bill Clinton? But these are skills I acquire from short floor which they will never acquire.
Oshiomiole noted that as a product of struggle as a result of many years of being exploited fighting the oppressors, he deployed those skills and defeated them the opposition saying ” At a point they said I should allow the man to talk, did the electorate complain?
As his tenure rounds up in some few weeks, Oshiomiole said he wants to be remembered as a factory worker who worked and laboured as a daily paid worker in the most subordinated position, the textile mills, rising to become the leader of the sector and eventually spent 8 years as the President of the largest mass based, mass funded organization which the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, represents.
“And moving from there back home to confront the most vicious political god fathers that completely monopolized the politics of Edo State that everybody refers to godfathers as a given as election rigging as a way of life.
“And these are the background that I came on the platform of a new political party, posing that part of the my mission is to purge the state of godfathers which is the pre-condition for liberal democracy to thrive and to create a new political environment that is sufficiently liberal such that the people can determine who becomes what in the politics of our states. That as a precondition for dealing with developmental issues such as infrastructure,” he added.
