Edo 2024: Only the blind will vote APC — Senator Uzamere
By Emmanuel Aziken
Senator Ehigie Uzamere carved a niche in the Edo State political clime when he became the first Benin senator to win re-election in 2011. Remarkably, his historical political feat was achieved on the platform of two different political parties, a score that has yet to be rivalled. In the national political sphere he is also reckoned as the organiser and host of the National Interest Group, NIG, the assemblage of more than 80 senators who pushed the Doctrine of Necessity that formed the framework for the emergence of Dr Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President during the limp days of the Umaru Yar’adua presidency.
Ahead of the Edo State governorship election, Senator Uzamere who was an early canvasser for the emergence of Mr Asue Ighodalo spoke in an interview with Saturday Vanguard on his motivation, the eruptions of Senator Adams Oshiomhole and the qualities of the major candidates in the race.
On why he supports Asue Ighodalo
I am of the PDP, and I support Dr. Asue Ighodalo. Not because I am a PDP man, but because I believe that he is the best among the three major candidates. But I also know that he has a very rich background and CV.
If you watch his campaign it is centred on issues. His dressing is simple. But beneath that dressing is a man with a V12 engine.
He’s humble, he’s intelligent. And at this time, you need a man who has, who is deeply is in the economies, to be able to understand (0:44) the economy of this country and of the state.
The economy of this country today has taken a downward turn and also affects the world but today, you can see how Governor Obaseki has been able to manage the economy. So this is not business as usual, where you go and bring somebody from classroom to come and be governor.
So he has done well in his chosen profession and we feel that, and I believe in rotation. Edo South has done eight years. It is fair for Edo Central to produce a candidate from our party.
Moreso, I was the first Edo South man at a PDP meeting in Abuja to say that Edo Central must produce a candidate because Edo South has done it. So he has what it takes to be governor of the state.
So how do you compare him to his major rivals in the APC and Labour Party?
Well, let me first speak on Olumide, he’s my cousin through my maternal grandmother in Usen.
He is very, very qualified, very intelligent. He went to King’s College as Asue Ighodalo but it is not his time. You see those in Edo State who were fighting Atiku Abubakar over zoning are the ones ironically now supporting Olumide. He’s still very young, he can wait for his time.
APC candidate?
I didn’t really know him, but they say he was with Chief Anenih, but I was not very close to Chief Anenih. Looking at what I can see from a distance, I can see that the APC really doesn’t have a candidate.
Why?
Because he’s not prepared to be governor. Because you see, you have to have certain qualifications that will catapult you into a race. You have to have a CV that will catapult you into an arena where people will look at your rich CV and say, oh, let us consider this. Okpebholo is not an option to Asue Ighodalo.
In fact, there’s no comparison.
You have to be prepared to be governor. And everybody, we all know how he became a senator. It’s all because the leaders of the PDP in Edo Central decided to do anti-party. That’s what produced him as a senator. If I were to advise him, he should have stayed in that place.
On issues that he is not speaking at his campaign
The former governor in the forefront of his campaign is the general overseer of a faction of APC. And that is Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
And well, I think Oshiomole has his reason for what he’s doing. I’m sure he wants to come back the third time. Other than that, there have been other governors who have ruled the state before him.
And they’ve all kept quiet. They are doing their own thing. Why must he be in the forefront? He cannot be the leader of the Benin.
He can be the leader of his people. He cannot decide for us. Before you… There is nobody of repute in Edo South that Oshiomhole has not abused.
Look at those who are in the forefront in his party that wanted to be a governor under his party. Tell me one person among them that he has not abused. And we all kept quiet. They kept quiet. We all kept quiet. We are all victims.
All of us, including me, my humble self. Because one man will come from Edo North and be abusing Benin leaders, starting from Ogbemudia. From Ogbemudia, he moved to Chief Gabriel Igbinedion the Esama of Benin then to his son, Lucky.
He went to Captain Hosa who helped him with his election. He went to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. In fact, reduced him completely and that was the man who played a key role for him to be a governor. He went to his deputy and reduced his deputy to an errand boy.
On the assertion by Oshiomhole that the Obasekis are childless
When I heard that, I was very, very embarrassed. But I’m not surprised because Oshiomhole is an unguided missile. He moves in a different direction and you cannot trust him.
You cannot trust him. How can? The woman was not referring to any particular party candidate.
She said, this is the only man that has a wife and takes care of us.
It’s left for Okbepholo to reply, not Oshiomhole.
Something must be wrong somewhere. Because you cannot just stand up and be calling a woman barren and be laughing at them. Because they are not God.
Is he (Oshiomhole) God? He has embarrassed himself, he has embarrassed his party. I know so many of the leaders in Abuja, the APC leaders that I know, that have called me and expressed embarrassment at what he said.
So, I think as far as I’m concerned, the entire women in Nigeria should stand up.
Including the wife of Mr. President, including the wife of the Vice President and the Senate President. Because this is not only Betsy, it’s all women that he has embarrassed. His father and the daughter, they should caution him and ensure that he apologizes to the woman.
A word to voters?
It is very clear now that APC is not even the light.
See where we are today. Except those who are blind. They will go and cast vote for them. It’s very clear that the man cannot speak. Even if you ask him to speak Esan language, is he going to speak Esan at the Villa?
Even if you are to speak a local language in Government House, it’s Bini because we are 65%.
I know Oshiomhole is going to send people after me.
What is your issue with Oshiomhole?
Well, I don’t have issue with him.
A few months ago when Senator Mattthew Urhoghide returned to the APC when he was celebrating his wife’s birthday, I was told that Oshiomhole came and started abusing me saying that if he knew he wouldn’t have given me a return ticket to the Senate.
He said he regretted but a year after I supported him against my own blood in his 2012 re-election. General Charles Airhavbare is my brother, the same blood whose friendship started from birth. We grew up together. He’s my senior. You can imagine the risk I took for Oshiomhole who is saying now that he regretted giving me…
But let me tell you, Oshiomhole never gave me the ticket. I’ll tell you how this came. I met Obasanjo at the villa.
He was with President Jonathan. As soon as I was to enter, he just dragged my hand and held my hand, and he said, Uzamere, what about your ticket? Because before then, Honorable Samson Osagie and Igodomigodo (Patrick Obahiagbon) met in my house and said that we have to leave this party because Chief Anenih was not willing to give us ticket in the PDP.
So, I said, no, let me think about it.
Less than two weeks, the two of them decamped. I was still remaining. I asked, why would I decamp to go and meet Oshiomhole? Especially, when I knew the fate of those who had worked closely with him. When I knew that he embarrassed Lucky Igbinedion and his father.
So I decided to stay. Until that evening, when the former president Obasanjo held my hand out and said, follow me to my car. He said, what is happening? I said, I didn’t know what I did to Chief Anenih. Anenih had asked me not to clear the NDDC nominee presented by Oshiomhole and that I should wait for further directives.
So he (Obasanjo) then said, what’s your relationship with Oshiomhole? I said, well, my relationship with Oshiomhole is cordial. I don’t have anything against him, but we are not friends. But I did that for him. He (Oshiomhole) appreciated me for clearing the NDDC nominee and that became the first person from the ACN from the south to hold a national position in government.
And I thought Oshiomole should be excited about it. So, ah, no, no, no.
So, Obasanjo asked me to call him so he could talk to him. I called him and surprisingly, he picked.
And then after that one, he said, okay, I want to see you. Where are you? He said I’m in Benin, he said okay, I want to see you in Senator Uzamere’s house.
He agreed. On that day, Obasanjo came to my house before him. He had never been to my house before.
Obasanjo is alive today. Oshiomhole also came, it was E.J. Agbonayinman that brought him to my house for the first time.
And in that meeting was late Sonny Uyigwe, of blessed memory, where Obasanjo requested for that appointment, said this young man is a very loyal person. I like him, he’s very humble and loyal.
He (Oshiomhole) now talked to Obasanjo and said, sir, I’m even looking for how to compensate him for what he did for clearing my NDDC nominee, despite the fact that they’re not the same party. And I know that it’s because of this that Anenih wants to punish him. I will make sure this ticket is given to him and after he wins, can return back to his party.
So you can see. He will now go and say he regretted giving me tickets.
Finally, sir, any word or advice for your voters in Edo?”
My advice to the Binis in Edo South is, you have done it before for me.
I never disappointed you people. And I’m looking up to you to vote for Asue Ighodalo. Because he’s the right candidate that will be able to take the state, that will be able to continue where Godwin Obaseki stopped.
The post Edo 2024: Only the blind will vote APC — Senator Uzamere appeared first on Vanguard News.
