By Editor
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Mr. John Mayaki, has cautioned the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to direct its frustration over the financial struggles of its governorship candidate, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, at former Governor Godwin Obaseki, rather than blaming the APC State Chairman, Emperor Jarret Tenebe.
In a statement, Mayaki dismissed allegations that Tenebe’s recent remarks about Ighodalo’s financial woes were responsible for the PDP candidate’s current predicament.
Mayaki said, “it was Obaseki who lured Ighodalo into an unmanageable debt trap and leaving him to struggle to struggle with the costs of a failed election and increasingly hopeless legal battle”.
According to Mayaki, Ighodalo’s alleged financial insolvency is a direct consequence of Obaseki’s lack of goodwill – which of course did not secure a future for his anointed godson.
His words, “it is laughable that the PDP is looking for who to blame for Ighodalo’s financial woes when the real culprit is staring them in the face”, Mayaki said.
“Obaseki practically dragged Ighodalo into this race, even when he had lost his deposit – promising him a smooth sail, yet he left him drowning in debt after failing to deliver victory. Why blame Tenebe for merely stating the obvious?”.
“What Emperor Jarret Tenebe said is nothing but the truth. The PDP’s candidate is broke, his financiers have deserted him, and the legal challenge at the tribunal is collapsing on him. Instead of facing reality, the PDP is looking for scapegoats,” he said.
Mayaki advised the PDP to have a sober reflection on the damage Obaseki has done to their party and the state rather than shifting blame to APC leaders who merely pointed out the cracks in their camp.
“Obaseki ran Edo PDP and the state like his personal business. He sidelined the stakeholders and imposed Ighodalo without a strong political structure. Now that the house is crumbling on them, they are dragging Tenebe’s name into their self-inflicted disaster.
“Edo people have moved on. Governor Monday Okpebholo is already focussed on governance, while the PDP remains detained in the past and in self-denial. Their real battle is not with the APC but with the consequences of Obaseki’s failed leadership”, he said.