Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki has said his estranged godfather, Adams Oshiomhole and former Governor of Lagos state, Bola Tinubu pose big danger to Nigeria’s democracy.
Obaseki, who appeared on ARISE TV’s The morning show on Tuesday said people like Tinubu and Oshiomhole cannot sit down in their houses and determine what happens in a state.
“For us, the challenge with people like Oshiomhole and Ahmed Tinubu is that they change their style and attitude, they pose a big danger to our democracy because they are extra-constitutional players.
“They are non-constitutional actors. There is no role; the role of leader. There is nothing in the constitution of our country or the constitution of that party giving the role of leader. The title leader has no role, no constitutional backing.
“I think titles should be earned out of respect, out of consideration of fact that they have been useful but it does not give them any constitutional role. They cannot sit in the comforts of their houses or wherever and determine who gets into what office and even when those people get into office, how they should conduct themselves. It is very anti-democratic.
“They have constituted themselves into what they say they are without any constitutional responsibility and trying to overlord themselves over people who have constitutional authority and if we allow them to continue in the mould they are, it will destroy our democracy and for me, it is straightforward.
“It is not about personal issues but about their role in our democracy. You cannot have people who are elected and guided by the constitution in office and people who don’t have such mandate or authority or any checks on their conduct to come and say they want to control people who have been properly constituted in office” Obaseki said.
On Oshiomhole, the Governor said, “I don’t have any plans to drive him out of town. But if he continues to behave the way he has always done, if he continues to be disruptive, if he continues to flaunt his lions and tigers in Edo State and tries to create problems for us here, then we would not have any mercy. So it is totally up to him,” he said.
Obaseki said he has no plans of dumping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform he won re-election.
“I won the election on the platform of the PDP. I think it will be immoral and unfair to even have any other consideration at this point about leaving the platform that gave me the mandate.
“There must be moral in politics, people must be ethical. At this point in time, I do not think it is a proper thing to do, to jettison the party that has brought me into the party. Particularly, I have no issues or challenge with the party now” he said.
