How Buhari tried to reconcile Oshiomhole, Obaseki — Femi Adesina reacts

Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, has revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari made attempts at reconciling Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, and his predecessor and estranged mentor, Adams Oshiomhole.

According to Adesina, Special Adviser on Media & Publicity to the President, Buhari eventually allowed the impasse between Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, and the governor to run its course.

Adesina, who made the revelation in a Facebook interview with a Nigerian, Ata Ikiddeh, based in the UK, said: “One thing about the President is that he likes to be fair to everybody. So those who are complaining he has not done this, he has not done that, they don’t know what he has done.

“What he has done is to meet with the parties separately. And he has been doing this for more than a year since the crisis in Edo began.


“So, if the people are in entrenched positions and refuse to shift ground, what would the President do as a democrat? You allow the process to run its course.

“What people expect the President to do is to legislate things, to order Obaseki ‘No, step down’ or order Oshiomhole ‘No, give him the ticket’.

“That is not democracy. When you begin to order and legislate things like that you would be unfair to one party.

“But before Edo, there was Rivers, there was Zamfara and, of course, you know many other states were the governing party lost because of internal issues.

“What may not be apparent to the public is what the President did in all those states and he has done in Edo.”

Obaseki was, on Friday, disqualified by the All Progressives Congress, APC, Screening Committee from contesting the forthcoming governorship primary election of the party.

Today (Tuesday, Obaseki announced his resignation from APC after meeting with the President in Abuja.