By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Governor Godwin Obaseki of edo State, and his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Friday engaged themselves in a war of words on the issue of performance in office.
Obaseki who was elected governor under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2016, dumped the party in July after he was denied a second term ticket and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and clinched the party’s gubernatorial ticket.
Since then, he has faced several criticisms from APC chieftains.
The latest criticism came from Ganduje, who serves as Chairman of the APC National Campaign Council for Edo gubernatorial election, when he accompanied the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.
Ganduje said Obaseki was a “liability” to the PDP.
“I can assure you that Governor Obaseki is a liability to the PDP. I can assure you that we are contesting against a governor who failed most woefully,” Ganduje said.
But Obaseki fired back, telling Ganduje that he delivers sustainable projects to better the lives of Edo people and does not go about stuffing dollars in babaringa like him.
Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki said Ganduje is in no position to assess his performance or any other governor in the country because of the baggage of the viral video of him stuffing dollars collected from contractors circulated on the internet recently.
“The comment by Governor Ganduje on the performance of Governor Obaseki in office is at best laughable. It is also disgraceful because the APC has apparently misconstrued the meaning of performance because it is verifiable that Governor Obaseki’s unprecedented performance across different sectors of the state is what has endeared him to Edo people. No amount of lame talk from the APC and their campaign handlers can erase these projects which litter the nooks and crannies of Edo State,” the statement said.
“Ganduje is in no position to assess Governor Obaseki or any other governor for that matter because he has a baggage hanging on his neck, which he needs to clear. It is important to put some of the government’s projects in perspective so that the public can judge.
“The Obaseki-led government through different Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have completed or is at the verge of completing the following projects: the 6000bpd Edo Modular Refinery in Ologbo, Benin City; 55MW Ossiomo Independent Power Plant, in Ologbo, Benin City; the 1451-unit Emotan Garden Estate; strengthened broadband infrastructure with 400km fibre optic cables laid by Main One, among others”
Osagie noted that workers and pensioners in the state are happy with Governor Obaseki because he has kept faith with paying their salaries and pensions, while investors keep trooping in because of the transparent and efficient land management, among others.
