Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday made his decision to quit the All Progressives Congress official after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.
He said announcing his resignation at the State House was a mark of respect for Buhari and in keeping with the promise he made earlier that he (Obaseki) would speak on his next move after meeting with the President.
Speaking with State House Correspondents after the meeting, Obaseki noted, “I have said that before I make a decision, I have to show respect to my President, who I adore, who for me is an epitome of incorruptibility, an epitome of order, an epitome of lawfulness.
“This is the man whom for him that is what Nigeria should be all about. I think I owe him that respect to come and tell him what I have done and why I have decided to take the decision I took.”
The APC’s screening committee had last week disqualified the sitting governor from participating in the June 22 primaries ahead of the September governorship poll in Edo state.
Obaseki’s meeting with Buhari came barely 24 hours after APC National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, led National Working Committee members to a meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, at the Presidential Villa.
The agenda was the Edo APC crisis and Oshiomhole seized the opportunity to defend the decision to disqualify Obaseki on the grounds of “inconsistencies” in school and National Youth Service certificates.
Obaseki explained that the decision to dump the APC came after he consulted widely with stakeholders and supporters across the state to his convictions.
“(I’m) just here today to inform you that I have now decided formally to resign my membership of the All Progressives Congress. Having done that, I will now announce in the next few days my specific line of action and what platform I will be contesting the gubernatorial election on.”
Asked a specific question on why he resigned, the governor replied, “I am sure the whole country knows and is aware of what has gone on with me and the party chairman in party leadership, which culminated in my disqualification as a gubernatorial aspirant.
“Upon that unfortunate decision by the chairman of the APC, I have decided to go and seek my gubernatorial aspiration on another platform.”
He dismissed Oshiomhole’s position that the incumbency factor would not save him, saying, “Time will tell. Let us go to the polls and Nigerians will see.”
Obaseki also answered questions over alleged inconsistencies in his school and NYSC certificates.
He spoke elaborately on the issues, “Someone who hasn’t gone to school, who doesn’t have a certificate himself, will not know and understand what inconsistencies in certificates are. That is the starting point.