Edo deputy gov mobilised 200 okada riders, thugs to embarrass me -Oshiomhole

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused the Edo Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, of mobilising over 200 Okada riders and thugs to the venue of the convocation of Edo University, Iyamho, to embarrass him and his guests.

Oshiomhole said the whole essence of the attack on him was to create an impression that he was no longer popular at home.

The former Edo governor expressed regret that his invited guests including the Oba of Lagos, Rildwan Akiolu, and the Chancellor of the University, Aderemi Makanjuola, were caught in the web of the attack instigated by the deputy governor.

At a news briefing on Sunday in his Abuja residence, Oshiomhole urged Governor Godwin Obaseki to caution Shaibu, whom he accused of having a “high propensity for violence.”

Exonerating himself of any blame, Oshiomhole said the youths at the entrance of his residence on Saturday only mobilised themselves to save him from further attack from the thugs imported by the deputy governor.

He said, "I decided that I should use this medium to speak to the unfortunate incident that happened in my community on (Saturday) after the convocation ceremony at the Edo University. Like I already directed my press secretary to do yesterday, obviously, it was my decision to invite the Chancellor and his entourage including His Royal Majesties, Oba Akiolu, Oba Otudeko, and other dignitaries.

"I personally invited them to join me for lunch which they graciously accepted and so it is unthinkable that I will invite people for lunch and I will make arrangements to disrupt or prevent my guests from coming to my house. So, any suggestion that I had an idea of what happened, nothing can be farther from the truth.

"When I discovered that something had gone wrong, I went to the gate and by then they had gone. I tried to speak with the governor. I called him, the phone rang out but at least I was able to speak with the Chancellor and his wife and I am happy that they fully understood.”

Oshiomhole said he did his best to save the situation when he heard that the state government had imported thugs into the venue of the convocation.

He said he got an inkling of what to come when the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, a day earlier was ambushed to address the thugs who smuggled themselves into the venue.

He said, “However, this whole thing was unfortunate because it was organised by the state government. By Thursday evening, and you can crosscheck with the Inspector General of Police, I had information that the Deputy Governor asked some people to organise 1, 000 people to the university community.

“The whole idea was for them to boo me and celebrate it in the media that the comrade-chairman was booed in his own community. The CBN Governor, Godwin Amafuele, who delivered the convocation lecture was also a witness.

"I conveyed the message to the IGP to prevent thugs from being imported to the place by the deputy governor. Some few minutes later the governor himself arrived and Mr Emefiele went to him and said to him, 'what are these people doing here?'

“He said to the governor that if those people were there, he wasn't going to deliver the convocation lecture because he didn't come to do politics, he just came to perform a normal intellectual activity which was the convocation lecture.

“The governor promised to get the people out of the university. You can imagine, it is easier to mobilise thugs into a place but it is far more difficult to demobilise them. So, we had to meander into the auditorium where the lecture was to be delivered and of course, you could hear all sorts of slogans and counter slogans. This was exactly what they had planned and the whole idea was they would have their cameras waiting. As I step out so that people will be booing me and the media will report that Oshiomhole booed when he attended the convocation ceremony. That was the whole idea", he said.

Oshiomhole who asked the governor to caution his deputy, said he had nothing to prove again in Edo politics having served as governor for two terms.

The APC National Chairman added that he had done his best to reconcile Obaseki with APC leaders and other aggrieved stakeholders in Edo state but the governor not cooperating.