Obaseki: PDP only interested in Edo treasury – Ganduje

*Says APC campaign team consists of political war veterans, will do everything to win election

*Vows to send Wike to isolation centre before election 

*Oshiomhole, Oyegun boycott Edo campaign council inauguration 

Kano state governor and chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Edo State Governorship National Campaign Council, Abdullahi Ganduje has said that aiming to loot the Edo state treasury remains the main motive for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  in giving Governor Godwin Obaseki, its governorship ticket.

He said the PDP and Obaseki have no common political ideological leaning or interest except for reasons of looting the common patrimony of the Edo people using Obaseki as a draining pipe.

The governor, however, said the people of Edo state are fully aware of the antics of the opposition party and will do everything possible to resist yielding the state to the PDP in the September 19 governorship poll.

Ganduje said this while addressing journalists after the inauguration of the Edo campaign council at the APC national secretariat on Monday.

He said “the PDP decided to accommodate our former governor in Edo State not because they have anything in common, not because they share some  feelings, but simply because he is managing the treasury of Edo State and they want him to use that treasury in order to win the election. 

“But I assure you that the people of Edo State are watching. They know that somebody who was assisted in 2016 to win an election, somebody who was given every cooperation to succeed in governance of Edo State without doing much for the people, at the end of it, he’s taken the treasury and now handed it over to PDP in order to win the election.

“The people of Edo State will not accept this treachery. The people of Edo State on the 19th September will come out en masse and vote APC”.

He went ahead to assure the people of Edo state of the capability of the campaign committee to ensure victory for the party. He said APC will do everything possible to win this important election.

“The reason why I’m saying that, you know the composition of this Committee we have all war veteran in politics who are ready to go. And we have young people who are just coming out from election and are ready to go back into the processes of election again. And we have all the horses who never missed their targets

“So, we assure you, the composition of this campaign council is strong and we are ready to do the job.

Ganduje said the campaign team is equal to the task and can easily match the arrays of politicians in the campaign committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.

“We know the opposition is planning to rig the election, we know there are tactics, we know there methodology and we shall dismantle all their tactics to ensure that we win this election

“We know PDP made Wike their chairman,  I assure you, we will isolate Wike in an isolation centre and before he recovers, the election is over”. 

Assuring the party leadership of victory during the inauguration, Ganduje said ” I am being motivated,  encouraged when I see the composition of the council consisting of the who is in the APC deputy Senate President, the former SGF, many former governors and my colleague governors. 

“You can see that the campaign council is composed of both the young and the old. The young, who are veterans from political war college, who are used to door-to-door fighting, who were,  in fact, were born in the field base of war and the smoke of guns do not deter such people, who silently shoot and never miss their targets. 

“Mr Chairman, I believe you know we will already succeed and I am happy with the just inaugurated reconciliation committee as well. We too will work together to ensure that there is complete synergy within the party. 

“We are working with one voice so that we can eliminate the problems of anti-party activities, sabotage, espionage. So that if there is full reconciliation, then we know we are working in unison and this is equally important. 

“Mr Chairman, the campaign council will work with the leadership of the party in Edo state so that we can understand the political trend of the field, and to know the areas of strength and weaknesses, areas that we have to take advantage of and even areas of threats. 

“We assure you that we will work to make everything possible to ensure that we succeed. Our main objective is to create an enabling environment for all of us to work together as partymen and even members of the public to ensure that we win this important election. 

“We assure you that we will work within the protocol of COVID 19 in Edo state, we assure you that we will work according to the rules of the nation and electoral laws and processes because many members of the committee were elected,  others have managed elections at one time or the other, so it is not a new thing. We assure you of great success in Edo state”.

Inaugurating the campaign council, the chairman of the APC Caretaker/ Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, Gov. Mai Mal  Buni said the assignment before the reconciliation and campaign committees is to include a peaceful and united APC and ensure successful renewal of mandate by the good people of Edo state who voted for the party in 2016. 

He said  the list of carefully appointed members of the campaign council gives the party great hope and  confidence that they will succeed for the party to be more united and victorious, while urging them to take advantage of strong team work,  reach out to strong stakeholders and pursue the assignment with all sense of purpose and commitment for the party’s success. 

Buni appealed  to every stakeholder and member of the party across the country to support the peace initiative of the party for the stronger,  united and prosperous APC.  

Edo 2020: Campaigns have started officially – INEC

He said “I’m here to say that the caretaker committee which I’m opportune to lead appreciates a wide range of consultations and this is the means to  pave the way for true and sincere reconciliation.

“I also draw a roadmap,  plan and action to form partnership among the stakeholders. We are committed to rebuilding confidence and trust through the party across the country.  To actualise these measures,  we must engage in all inclusive consultation that accommodate and fix various challenges facing the party”.

However, immediate past former chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole and his predecessor in office and party, John Odigie – Oyegun who are members of the campaign committee were conspicuously absent at the inauguration.

Apart from members of the council, governors Babajide Sanwo – Olu, Yahaya Bello and Mohammed Yahaya Inuwa of Lagos, Kogi and Gombe respectively were present at the ceremony.