Obaseki Meets Buhari, Insists He Won't Return To APC

 

The governor says dumping the PDP for a return to the APC is a contradiction of Buhari's gospel of integrity.

Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has dismissed the possibility of a future return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Obaseki won a first term in office in 2016 as an APC candidate but resigned from the party after a meeting with Buhari in June 2020.

The governor was forced out after the party refused to allow him contest for re-election, the fallout of a conflict with his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, who was the party's national chairman at the time.

He later joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and won the September 19 governorship election for a second term in office, beating the APC's candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and 12 other candidates.

As part of his 'Thank You' tour after the election, Obaseki paid a visit to Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Friday, September 25.

Obaseki visited President Buhari with his deputy, Philip Shuaibu [Presidency]

Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, the 63-year-old said it would be immoral for him to return to the APC.

He said dumping his new party for a return to the APC is a contradiction of Buhari's own gospel of integrity.

The governor had earlier this week said that there isn't much of a difference between both the APC and the PDP in terms of ideology and membership, noting that it's still early days in the nation's democracy for important distinctions to appear.

Ize-Iyamu has refused to concede the election to Obaseki, alleging that the process was marred by numerous irregularities.

This is despite the fact that the national leadership of the APC has praised the election as a victory for democracy.