A factional chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Anselm Ojezua, has congratulated Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, on their victory in the last Saturday governorship election in the state.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ojezua blamed the defeat of the APC in the election on what he termed “a selfish, insensitive, arrogant and irresponsible leadership,” urging Obaseki to be magnanimous in victory.
The factional APC chairman and his group were loyal to Obaseki when the governor was a member of the APC.
Obaseki and his deputy, Shaibu, defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a few months to the election after the APC disqualified them from contesting in the party’s primary election.
Ojezua also congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for the role he played in the election.
“The election has been generally acclaimed to be peaceful, orderly and transparent. The people of Edo State have made their choice in a very clear and unambiguous manner.
“Our loss at the poll stems from the needless and avoidable crisis foisted on the party by a selfish, insensitive, arrogant and irresponsible leadership.
“While we begin to take steps to try and salvage the wellbeing of our party in the state, we call on the governor to be magnanimous in victory while we urge all the contestants to sheathe their swords and put the elections behind them.
“We must all close ranks with the Government in order to ensure a seamless transition to the final lap of governance for the benefit of our people rather than subject them to further needless distraction and rancor,” he said.
