By Ishaya Ibrahim
Former governor of Edo State and current senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has come under attack over a comment against Ose Anenih, son of late Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) power broker, Tony Anenih over his mother’s ethnicity.
Ose is the son of Josephine Anenih, a former minister of women affairs who hails from Anambra State but was married to Anenih from Edo. Her son Ose currently serves as the PDP director of strategy for the September 21, 2024 Edo governorship election.
At a rally of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) ahead of the governorship election, Oshiomhole said: “ They brought one Ose Anenih. (Tony) Anenih is our late father. May his soul continue to rest in peace. But they brought one of his children. And he said his mother is Igbo and that he is from Uromi. That he is eligible to contest. He didn’t know the difference between eligibility to contest an election and being electable. You are an eligible bachelor but you can’t get a wife to marry. Eligibility is different.
“In the case of this boy Ose, he contested for primaries in Uromi where our late Chief Anthony Anenih of blessed memory comes from. The people of Uromi rejected him because he couldn’t communicate with them. They rejected him,” Oshiomhole claimed.
But Oshiomhole is now receiving flak over the comment.
Former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu knocked Oshiomhole over the comment via his X handle. He said: “This is not just about anyone whose mother is #Igbo. In the end, our mothers have to come from somewhere. This is about drawing a line under what is acceptable from political leaders. Adams crossed it!”
@gabykallis1 referenced Oshiomhole’s marriage to his wife from Cape Verde, Iara, to comment: “Oshiomhole, one day! your children will also be told that their mother is not from EDO state.”
@uzovyn said: “These politicians can say anything they like to achieve their own gain, even without knowing the implications that may arise.”
@nwabuisi1 said: “These are the crop of politicians that laid Nigeria to rest.”
@martindon1818 said: “What goes around comes around.”