…Obaseki disqualified over fake certificate
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has lost the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship ticket.
As a result, the embattled governor is said to be considering running on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The Governor was disqualified by APC’s screening committee headed by Professor Jonathan Ayuba.
Professor Ayuba, while presenting the report to the party’s National Working Committee, said the governor was disqualified from participating in the party’s June 22 primary because of the discrepancies in his names and certificates and for taking the party to court in contravention of the party’s rules.
In the report received by the National Chairman of the party, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, Ayuba noted that Obaseki claimed to have obtained a Higher School Certificate from the Institute of Continuing Education in Benin but that he did not produce the certificate and that the document he produced only attested to his attendance.
Also, read I’m not sure I will get justice, says Obaseki after APC screening
He said further that the governor’s National Youth Service Corps certificate reads ‘Obasek Godwin’ and that while this could be an error on the part of NYSC, the governor never took any step “to correct the anomaly”.
Obaseki and two other aspirants, Chris Ogiemwonyi and Mathew Iduoriyekenwen, were disqualified from participating in the party primary ahead of the September 19, 2020 governorship election in the state. Those cleared to take part in the primary were Mr Osaro Obaze, Dr Pius Odubu and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Obaseki and Oshiomhole had been at loggerheads over the governor’s re-election bid.
Read more: The curse of godfatherism and Oshiomhole’s irrefutable clout in Edo politics
Sequel to the disqualification, the national leadership of the PDP has declared the party’s doors open for the governor. It was, however, not clear if the governor will get automatic ticket in the party if he decides to run on its platform.
Punch reports that sources close to the leadership of the party however said the governor might be considering joining the PDP given that it is the only party that has the structure both in the state and at the national level.
“We will not send him away if he wants to join us. We will welcome him like every other defector if he wants to take refuge under our umbrella. That is what I can tell you,” the source said.
Asked if the governor could still be accommodated in the party’s primary slated for June 23 and 24 in the state, the source declined to give a definite answer.
