Edo 2016: Why it will be difficult to defeat Oshiomhole’s candidate

Hon. Philip Shuaibu is the member representing Etsako Federal constituency of Edo state in the House of Representatives. He was former Majority Leader in the Edo state House of Assembly and one of the political sons of governor Adams Oshiomhole. In this interview with Saturday Vanguard, he explains why governor Oshiomhole embarked on a wide consultation on who possibly succeeds him in Edo State and clears the air on Godwin Obaseki.

Excerpts:
Governor Adams Oshiomhole met with political leaders across the three senatorial districts last weekend to consult with them on the issue of his successor. How would you describe the meeting?

It was a very successful meeting. And this was the first time the governor of a state will be consulting with the people for the purpose of a successor and at the same time, it is in the interest of the party so that all of us will speak with one voice. What he is doing is to help stop this unnecessary expenditure that is incurred by aspirants, where people will sell their houses in the name of elections and by the end of the day, it becomes a do or die affair. So this consultation will help to curb the do or die politics. For the first time in this country, a governor is coming out to organize a talk where the agenda of his administration is discussed and the future of the next administration was the focus.
Other governors will not embark on this kind of discussions when they know they will soon be leaving. They don’t like talking about their exit, it is like a taboo. So those characters likening the actions of the Comrade governor to god- fatherism are talking rubbish. God fathers do not consult, a god father will impose a candidate but in this case, the governor is labouring, seeking every body’s position, giving everybody freedom. Nobody has been sacked on the account of his views on who becomes the next governor of the state. Everybody is expressing himself. That is the kind of platform that he has created and thank God he is leading by that example.
But there is this belief that some of you who are very close to him do not agree with him over the choice of Godwin Obaseki as the APC candidate?
That is not really the truth. But let me tell you, some people have dissenting voices, some have some fears about certain candidates. But the general view at the end of the day is that we will not rubbish the Comrade Governor. All of us that know what the Comrade governor has done to liberate all of us from the political slavery of Edo god fathers, will not want to go back to Egypt. The Comrade Governor has liberalized the political space that the son of a farmer can now contest for the governorship of this state without any form of intimidation.
So we will definitely come to an agreement and obviously I can tell you that with what the Comrade Governor has done in this state it will be difficult for anybody to defeat his candidate or APC candidate. And the process of choosing the APC candidate is what the Comrade Governor has started by consulting with stakeholders and more meetings will come up. And he has told us categorically clear that the wish of his party will be his wish. But don’t forget that as an incumbent governor, nobody can take that right from him. He has the right to choose his successor and that does not necessarily mean imposition or god fatherism.
It is a right you cannot take from him. The same way people are expressing their mind on who is their preferred candidate is the same way he is expressing himself. Oshiomhole passionately loves the state and would not want all he has done to be destroyed and go back to the era of locust. This man with all the hardship that the entire country is facing, road construction is on, he is building hospitals, salaries are paid as at when due. He crated the atmosphere for people to air their views and I know that at the end of the day we will choose one candidate. He does not want people to waste so much money and at the end of the day the party will tell them to withdraw or respect the party’s choice. It then becomes difficult.
Recently, a PDP governorship aspirant Pastor Ize-Iyamu was criticising the administration of the Comrade Governor on television, claiming that Oshiomhole has collected more money than Lucky Igbinedion’s administration yet he allegedly performed below expectation?
But of course you should know who is talking. If Ize-Iyamu will open his mouth to say Comrade Governor has not done anything it shows how backward he is as a politician in Edo state because a blind man can feel the works of the Comrade Governor in Edo state. Lucky Igbinedion was governor during the era of the oil boom. When the Comrade governor took over in 2008, what was a barrel of oil to compare to when Igbinedion was governor? What was the dollar to the naira as at that time? You cannot compare Igbinedion’s government with that of the Comrade governor.
The worst part of this government is better than the best part of that regime. And those that led to the failure of that Igbinedion administration should be ashamed to talk. Pastor Ize-Iyamu. He colonized Lucky and there was so much impunity. He may even be richer than Igbinedion today. He tried to do the same thing in APC with the Comrade Governor but of course Ize-Iyamu is too small where the Comrade is and the governor kept him where he belongs and that was what frustrated him out of APC to PDP, where he is still pursing his governorship ambition which he started even during Igbinedion administration.
Igbinedion as a local government chairman did very well and Edo people hailed him for that and that was why he won the governorship election. And when he was Local Government chairman, Ize-Iyamu was nowhere around him. But the moment he became governor Ize-Iyamu came and hijacked him and that was why that government failed. He became SSG in that administration and Lucky handed over the government to him. So these are people who are known in the state.
The Comrade Governor gave him oxygen mask that resuscitated him from the damage he caused in this state after he joined the ACN then. Edo people detested and frowned at him because of the role he played in that administration. If people like that will say they want to be governor of Edo state under the PDP, it means whoever the Comrade governor brings will beat Ize-Iyamu silly. Even Oshiomhole’s driver will defeat Ize-Iyamu in Orhionmwon, his village. Edo people are wiser now and will not want to be ruled by desperate politicians. Any person who wants to be governor by all means and can do anything to get power will not be good for the state.
These are not the kind of people we need today. We need people who can manage the meagre resources of the state the way the Comrade Governor has managed it. People who have vision for development. Comrade governor has laid the foundation for further development in Edo state but Ize-Iyamu cannot build on that foundation. When he was in charge of the state with Igbinedion, they killed Edo Line, Bendel Brewery, sold all the industries they claimed they built. They deceived Edo people that they were building industries such as the Ehor fruit juice company, the Cassavita plant at Uromi, Fertilizer Company at Okpilla but none of these companies survived even under their watch. All they did was to sell them and you think Edo people will forget?
Those industries became conduit pipes and that was why the EFCC convicted the former governor, his brother and one of his aides. And these were supervised by Ize-Iyamu who claimed he had no hand in it. We are aware that he has been attending all ceremonies including marriages, burials, birthday parties just because he wants to be governor. But we are praying the PDP will give him the ticket so that we will teach him a lesson. We will remind Edo people who the real Ize-Iyamu is and they will now compare and contrast and I am sure they will react with their votes. You cannot take people for granted for over ten years and you think they have forgotten.
You see Edo state today almost from zero revenue to billions. Edo is viable today. Salaries are being paid, projects are being executed despite the economic crisis and that is why we need a governor that will sustain the progress. And we are happy that the governor is following that slogan of let the people lead and he is consulting with everybody. Those of us who are following Oshiomhole will always tell him the truth and at the end of the day whoever he is convinced about, the entire party will follow him.
But do you not foresee crisis in your APC as a result of this governorship ticket?
The Comrade Governor is a very tactful politician, he is very intelligent and he is liked by all of us. He believes in the people and always aligns with the wishes of the majority. And I can tell you that the Comrade Governor will lead us to a candidate all of us will support and the person will eventually win the general election. He has the leadership skill that will hold the party together so we have no fear of any crisis. Whoever emerges after the primary will be the flag bearer and all members are expected to queue in and work. If you now feel like doing something contrary then you will be enemy of the party.