‘Oshiomhole showing bias, should hear from all parties’

Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, has said the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is showing bias with his view on Governor Godwin Obaseki’s alleged role in the emergence of the leadership of Edo State House of Assembly.

Osagie noted that Oshiomhole should hear from all parties in a matter before taking sides.

The governor’s aide said: “We read with utter astonishment a statement credited to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, with respect to Governor Godwin Obaseki’s alleged role in the inauguration of the Edo State House of Assembly.

“Aside the fact that he based his conclusion on a totally false and baseless premise, we believe he could have shown he does not have vested interest by simply inquiring directly from his friend, the Governor, or any official of the State Working Committee of our party as to what actually transpired.”

Osagie explained that Oshiomhole’s “failure to satisfy the basic tenets of natural justice, which makes fair hearing from all sides of a matter mandatory, has clearly exposed his bias in this issue.”

He added: “For the avoidance of doubt, all the decisions relating to the leadership of Edo State House of Assembly recently elected by the House, were taken by the State Working Committee and leaders of the party from across the state.

“In deference to the rule of party supremacy, which the National chairman so eloquently professes, the governor and all party members are obliged to respect party’s decision, as we expect the national chairman to also do.”

It would be recalled that Oshiomhole, at a press conference on political developments in Edo and Bauchi States’ Houses of Assembly, in Abuja on Friday, said: “Unfortunately, the situation in Bauchi is similar to the one in Edo State. I am ashamed to talk about it, but there is nothing to hide. We have a similar situation in Edo, where in our case, we have 24/24, all of them APC, but somebody wants a particular person as Speaker, but 19 out of 24 are opposed to this person.”