…unveils plans to decamp to PDP
…as Imansuangbon, Ogbeide-Ihama resist Obaseki
…Gov. Wike, Dan Orbih oppose Obaseki’s moves
The embattled Governor of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki, has headed to Abuja again following a streak of meetings at the Edo State Government House where he disbursed funds, suspected to be sourced from the state treasury, to allies to mobilize support as he finalizes plans to switch to the opposition PDP.
Obaseki, seeking a way out of his suspension and unresolved inconsistencies in his academic credentials, a problem that makes him a liability to any serious political party, invited leaders from different constituencies in the state to a meeting at the Government and offered them inducements to mobilize support for his decamp move across various wards in the state.
He also met with members of the caucus to feel their pulse following widespread reports that senior members of his administration are unwilling to follow him out of the APC, especially because the crisis that has now consumed his political career and administration was self-wrought and could have been avoided if the amateur Governor heeded their warnings and advice.
After the caucus meeting, the Governor made movement plans to travel to Abuja to continue talks with the leadership of the PDP, his suspected new party.
However, in spite of public reports of Obaseki’s assured ticket in the PDP, members of the party in the state, including the duo of Kenneth Imasuagbon and Ogbeide Ihama, two of the three aspirants already billed to contest for the PDP’s ticket at a primary in Edo State, are said to building a stiff resistance to any moves by the party to offer its platform to the embattled Governor.
The leadership of the PDP at the local level in Edo State is deeply unwelcoming of Obaseki and has sworn to fight moves to impose him on the party as a candidate.
Former PDP Chairman who remains influential, Dan Orbih, and the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, are also both reported to be opposed to the PDP serving as a placeholder for the disillusioned Obaseki who, in their estimation, holds no political value and is headed for oblivion in a matter of months.
This development has increased the headache of the Governor who knows that issues of his certificates have already tainted his candidacy and made him a hard sell to any serious political organization.
Furthermore, he is reluctant to move to the PDP through a forceful and bitter imposition process as that would mean that leaders and members of the party in Edo State will sabotage the party’s efforts and deliver a sure, flawless victory to the All Progressives Congress.
However, Obaseki may find a home in any of the mushroom political parties who will milk him dry as a good money source, knowing that they both stand no real chance of electoral victory or relevance.
