Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike has revealed why he did not meet Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki when he visited the State last week.
Wike, who was in the Edo State capital as part of consultation for his presidential aspiration, neither met with Obaseki nor his deputy, Philip Shaibu.
He also avoided the Edo Secretariat of the party in Benin because the Edo PDP Chairman Dr. Tony Aziegbemi believed to be an Obaseki loyalist.
Wike stated his reasons in an interview with BBC News Pidgin.
He said: “I did not visit Governor Godwin Obaseki because that was not where the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) sent me.
“They sent me to meet the delegates (not the Governor) concerning how our party will win the 2023 presidential election.
“It is not written anywhere that I must go through the Governor before seeing the party delegates.
“Governor Godwin Obaseki is not in a relationship with me, he is not my girlfriend, so why should I be quarrelling him?”
Dr Dan Orbih, who until his elevation as Deputy Vice Chairman South South, was Edo PDP chairman.
Orbih was joined by teeming supporters to receive Wike, who held talks with Edo PDP delegates at the residence of a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of PDP, the late Chief Tony Anenih.
Wike and Obaseki have been engaged in a public spat with the Rivers Governor describing his Edo counterpart as a serial betrayer and an ungrateful person.
He tendered an unreserved apology to Obaseki’s former godfather and predecessor Comrade Adams Oshiomole for ignoring his warnings on the Edo Governor.
Problem started when Obaseki attacked Wike stating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not the personal property of the Rivers Governor.
The Edo Governor said he will not accept political bullies and overlords, reminding Wike how he had dethroned bullies and high handed leaders.
Obaseki emphasised that Edo cannot be bought.
Wike, in return, described Obaseki as a serial betrayer and an ungrateful person.
He said: “If you ask anybody or check the DNA of Godwin Obaseki, what you will see in that DNA is serial betrayer and ungratefulness.
“Let me stand today to apologise to Adams Oshiomole, who had been vindicated by telling us that we would see the true colour, the insincerity and the ungratefulness of governor Obaseki.”
