National Vice Chairman, South-South of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dan Orbih, has narrated how Governor Godwin Obaseki allegedly collected $300,000 from his Deputy, Philip Shaibu to buy the party’s ticket ahead of the state’s governorship election in 2020.
Gatekeepers News reports that Orbih in a video said the party didn’t sell its ticket to Obaseki as widely believed.
In June 2020, Obaseki dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC, to join the PDP in other to contest for a second term after APC disqualified him for allegedly submitting questionable certificates.
Obaseki who got into the Edo government house under the platform of the APC in 2016, got re-elected under the PDP platform in 2022.
In March 2022, there were rumours that Obaseki’s Deputy, Shaibu was planning to dump the PDP to re-join his political godfather and former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. Shaibu, however, debunked these rumours.
Meanwhile, there has been a major rift between Orbih’s faction and Obaseki’s, over the composition of Ad hoc delegates that participated in the primary election of the party and the matter has been in court.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-man panel led by Justice Amina Augie, declined jurisdiction to hear the internal dispute rocking the party, dismissing the two appeals that were filed by Orbih’s loyalists.
At his annual Edo PDP Christmas/new year party in his country home of Ogbona near Auchi, the PDP National Vice Chairman finally revealed that the party’s national set up a reconciliation committee headed by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.
He explained that the party’s national agreed that the Edo South Senatorial ticket be given to Ogbeide Ihama to compensate him for stepping down for Obaseki in 2020, while Legacy Group will take the other Senate ticket and Obaseki’s group take the third one.
Orbih added that Obaseki’s group was to take 13 House of Assembly tickets and his (Orbih’s group) will take 11, adding that he accepted this for the sake of peace.
The PDP Chieftain noted that Shaibu came back to inform him that Obaseki now wants 14 seats, yet he (Orbih) and his team agreed to ensure togetherness.
He added that Shuaibu, suddenly came back to say Obaseki says he wants all 24 House of Assembly tickets, adding that Obaseki obviously doesn’t want peace in Edo PDP.
Orbih further revealed how Shaibu said Governor Obaseki demanded $300,000 from him to make up funds to settle Ogbeide Ihama.
See the video below:
