I supported Obaseki but I won’t join him in PDP, says Peter Esele

July 21, 2020 12:09 pm

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Peter Esele, former president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), says even though he supported Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, during the crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC), he will not leave the party.

In a statement, Esele said there is nothing “groundbreaking” about the defection of Obaseki from the APC to the PDP.

Obaseki left the party after a protracted disagreement with Adams Oshiomhole, former APC national chairman.

The governor resigned his membership of the party following his disqualification from the APC governorship primary election for Edo. He clinched that of the PDP afterwards.

The former TUC leader said though he respects the decision of Obaseki to defect to the PDP, he will remain in the APC.

”Recently the governor of Edo state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki crossed the floor of APC into the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), citing irreconcilable differences,” he said.

“I respect his decision and those who joined him in the process. There is nothing groundbreaking about this move nor is it peculiar to him, so I sincerely wish him well.

“However, as for me and my house, I will not be leaving the APC. I have openly supported Mr. Obaseki on the grounds that the crises he was engaged in, affected the party as a whole. My stand is for the collective and not the individual.

“While he has chosen to move on, I will remain and carry on working with the collective. Being a card carrying member of the APC is not a walk in the park.

“Many of the party’s challenges are self-inflicted. To deny this is folly so I won’t even try. But we must never forget the importance of institutions in nation building.

“Democracy is an aspiration not a ready-made entity and the APC is part of that aspiration towards a desirable state of national affairs. The journey is rugged and individual personalities can only take us a fair distance. It is the institutions we build that insures and ensures the desired future.”

Esele said it is up to Edo residents to make the governorship poll fixed for September 19 “count collectively”.