The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday, lamented the political crisis rocking Edo State and the alleged betrayal of the deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu.
Oshiomhole shared his feelings in Iyamoh, his country home when supporters paid him a solidarity visit.
The APC chair expressed disgust over the crisis that has engulfed the party in Edo and blamed Shaibu and some other persons from his Local Government Area, who he claimed betrayed him.
Addressing his supporters, Oshiomhole urged the people to continue to embrace peace and not allow themselves to be used for the wrong reasons because of money just as he also advised them to continue to support the government of President Muhammadu Buhari who he said stands for truth and justice.
Shaibu was at the centre of a recent altercation between youths in Iyamho and suspected thugs allegedly brought to the community during the recent convocation in Edo University, Iyamho in Etsako West Local Government Area.
Oshiomhole said, “It is about the truth, we have a president who believes in the truth, who believes in fairness, who believes in justice, who believes that government should fight for the poor.
“There is nothing I have done in life that I didn’t have to fight but as you can see by the special grace of God there is no fight that I was forced into that I have not prevailed because I do not go out of my way to look for trouble. I actually do my best to make peace but if it fails, God will give the enablement to stand and defend the truth.
“The only thing I will say today to anyone who is here, who is an agent of my son; when I talk of my son, I’m talking of Philip Shiabu, who now thinks that his own political future requires that he attacks me and import thugs to disgrace me in my village.
“The Hausas have a saying that when people are possessed and they do things like that, just say, ‘God take control.’ Supposing I was dead after 2016 and somebody tells me that my son Philip will organise people to attack my house or to attack my village, to disrupt the convocation, maybe my body will be turning in heaven and I will not believe but the fact that I’m alive to see someone who did not win his own (polling) booth because his own people in his own village in his own community of Jattu did not want him because they apparently know him better than I do. But I stood by him, I stood for him and he became the deputy governor.
“If all that transpired now is to use that power to humiliate me but God didn’t allow it. As you can see, who can fight the battle? It is only God so I leave the burden of guilt to them and I will not repay evil with evil. I will stand on the path of peace, I will stand on the path of unity. I will stand on the path of justice because I know that God in heaven will never allow the evildoer to prevail.
“I’m very happy that God has given me good health and that I can see some people who fought me in 2007 and God gave me victory and from victory I made them commissioners, I gave them jobs, I assisted them whenever they were in need. That I’m alive to see them because of a small pot of pepper soup calling for signatures to say Oshiomhole should not be.
PUNCH
