Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has threatened to deal with members of the “Legacy Group”, a faction in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, if they continue to divide the party.
OsunDailyNG reports that Obaseki issued the threat during the inauguration of a 363-member Governorship Campaign Council in Benin City.
Obaseki, who said the PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo would win 80 percent of the vote, boasted that the party had the structures and programmes to win the September 21 governorship election.
The governor, who also accused the Legacy Group faction of collecting money from the opposition party to destabilize the party in the state, added that they were disorganised and were a herd of sheep without shepherd.
According to him, the timetable is out, can you see any of them (Legacy Group) here? Can they organise themselves? PDP leads and others follow.
“The factional PDP members fighting the party have collected money from the opposition party to destabilise the party in the state. I want to warn such persons to stay away or face our wrath.
“PDP is one. Those who are fighting PDP have collected money from the other parties, and they want to sell out, join me so that we can flush them out of our party. Because we are not going to allow anybody to divide us, we are one party; one indivisible party in Edo State.
“The money they have collected is enough, let them go and enjoy it. Let them go and spend it outside. We don’t have anything to fear.
“I will fight them if they try us. We will fight them if they try us. They know us, we never fight and lose, let them come and try. They have collected money, let them stay outside with their money, and not disturb us, because this election is ours and we are going to win by the grace of God”, he said.
Obaseki, who opined that the main opposition party in the state has no space in Edo politics, boasted that the PDP has put together hardworking campaign council members.
He stated that the main opposition party could not destroy Nigerians at the centre and still wanted to destroy the people of Edo State
“By the grace of God, this campaign council will deliver nothing less than 80 per cent of our votes.
“We can’t find the opposition party anywhere. They have no place here. They cannot destroy us at the centre and want to still come and destroy us here. We will not allow it. The hunger is too much out there, we are preventing the hunger from coming to Edo.
“Everybody sees what is happening in Nigeria today. You can see the suffering in the land. You can see the struggle in Edo, but we pulled Edo out of those problems. So, our campaign is going to be based on the hope we will give our citizens in Edo State,
“The campaign is going to be based on what we have achieved and the lives we have touched. The campaign will also be based on the future not the past”, he added.
He noted that the structure of the campaign council was rooted in all the 192 wards across the state, adding that every organ of the party was captured.
Earlier, the State Chairman of the PDP, Tony Aziegbemi, disclosed that the campaign council comprised 363 members, excluding the women and youth wings.
Aziegbemi, who tasked members of the campaign council to go into the nooks and crannies of the state to sell the party’s candidate noted that Edo is PDP.
In his acceptance speech, the Director-General of the state campaign council, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, thanked the governor and PDP faithful for the opportunity to serve the party.
He promised to lead the party to victory come the September 21 governorship election.
In his remarks, the PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who also thanked party faithful and leaders for the confidence reposed in him, said Obaseki had laid a functional foundation in every sector that he would build upon.
