I’ll never follow Obaseki to PDP – Esele

Mr Peter Esele, a labour leader and former strong ally of Governor Godwin Obaseki, has said he has no intention of joining the governor in the PDP, though he had supported him during the crisis between the governor and former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

Esele said he remains an All Progressives Congress (APC) member and would therefore remain loyal to the party and its governorship candidate in the September 20 election.

“As for me and my house, we’re going nowhere. I will not be leaving the APC,’’ Esele said Tuesday in Benin”.

According to him, the decision is in spite of his having openly supported Obaseki in the crisis that later resulted in the governor jumping ship and pitching his tent with the PDP, which was previously in the opposition in Edo.

Esele argued that his decision to remain in the APC was borne out of collective interest, rather than fostering the interest of any individual.

“I have openly supported Mr Obaseki on the ground that the crises he was engaged in affected the party as a whole.

“My stand is for the collective and not for the individual. While he has chosen to move on, I will remain and carry on working with the collective. But we must never forget the importance of institutions in nation building,’’ he stated.

Esele, who contested for the governorship ticket of the APC with Obaseki in 2016, described the democratic process as an aspiration, rather than “a ready-made state of affairs”.

“September 19 is almost here. It is up to us to make it count collectively. Politics in Edo State has been in a state of heightened animation and I have been reflecting on some particular emerging trends.

“I feel the need to share some of my musings, considering that I have been very vociferous about disputes in my party, the APC.

“I have made my views known about how the party was being run. This led to a disagreement with the former national chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole.

“My misgivings about power relations and party administrative processes have caused me disagreements in the past but I still insist that my comments are not based on personal bias but on my integrity.

“It is based on the principle that “an injury to one is an injury to all — the central ethic of the labour movement, which I believe encompasses all ethnic and religious divides.”

Esele noted that irreconcilable differences prompted Obaseki to decamp to the PDP, saying: “I respect his decision and those who joined him”.

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