Give Lawmakers Their Mandates – APC Tells Obaseki

Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress has asked Governor Godwin Obaseki to give some lawmakers in the state their mandates.

Gatekeepers News reports that this is coming after Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu congratulated Obaseki in the spirit of statesmanship.

State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chris Azebamwan noted that the Governor’s response has shown that he is unwilling to revise affairs of the Members-elect.

According to him, this was obvious when the incumbent governor referred to the APC duo who congratulated him as ‘some characters’ despite congratulating him for his court victory.

Obaseki had said that Oshiomhole deceived 12 members-elect of the state’s Assembly who refused to present themselves for inauguration and two others whose seats were declared vacant, denying the representation of their constituents.

He said the affected members-elect in their selfish pursuits and obedience to their godfather, betrayed the confidence reposed in them by their constituents after the House was proclaimed on June 17, 2019.

In reaction to the Governor’s refusal to facilitate an out-of-court settlement, Azebamwan said the Governor does not need to be reminded that “those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.”

Part of the statement reads: “It needs to be said that the 14 Members-elect have a constitutional mandate that was arbitrarily abrogated by under-handed State manipulations.

“It is the constitutional right and legal responsibility to their constituents to seek by any and all lawful means, to claim their mandate.  Do we need to remind Godwin Obaseki that those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.

“But because we believe and strongly too, that we are all critical stakeholders in the Edo State project, it was and still is, our hope, our desire and our prayer that we can achieve more with a handshake at a parley table, that can be achieved through confrontation.”

He called on Obaseki to embrace oneness and also bring the people together with “a joint and common destiny.”

He added that “This is not the time for grandstanding, not the time for threats and intimidation, and certainly not the time for arm-twisting.

“Democracy without representation has no meaning and there is no denying that the people of Edo State that are represented by the 14 Members-elect are being shortchanged.

“It is time to let the greater good for the greater number to be our over-riding consideration.  It is time to bring down the barriers and build bridges because if the house collapses, the loss is shared by all occupants of the house. Let us together, rebuild Edo State without bitterness and rancor.”