Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have disagreed over governorship debate.
Edo APC, in an online statement by the Chairman of its Media Campaign Council, Prince John Mayaki, alleged the Nigeria Elections Debate Group was forced to call off its scheduled debate between contenders in the Edo governorship race after Obaseki announced a sudden pullout from the debate, citing unpreparedness.
But Obaseki, while speaking on the matter at the palace of Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, insisted he was not invited to the debate.
Edo APC claimed: “The debate, previously scheduled for September 2 with the candidate of the APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, among the first to confirm his attendance, would no longer hold.
“It was the first of debates meant to showcase the contenders, particularly candidates of the two major parties, before the electorate to speak directly to their manifesto and entertain difficult questions on their intentions and the viability of their plans for office.
“Obaseki is ashamed of his poor records and he is unable to defend them, without first perfecting his script of half-truths and lies. Edo governor is terrified of the prospect of being confronted with his failures in four years, hence his cowardly pull-out, on the grounds of lack of preparation.
“Incumbents who performed in office seize any opportunity to showcase their achievements to the people, especially in national debates meant to deepen the democratic culture and offer electorate a front-row seat at an event where those seeking their votes are made to answer difficult questions on why they are deserving of the office they seek.
“But in the case of Obaseki, having failed in all ramifications, most notably his central promise of creating 200,000 jobs, he is playing hide and seek with organisers of debate events, citing unpreparedness and campaigns.
“The sad truth is that Obaseki is never prepared for anything, including governance. To debate, he needs his thousands of aides, most of whom he hired at the dawn of his forgettable tenure, to help him perfect a script of lies and untruths.”
“He (Obaseki) does not have a known or documented manifesto. His comical MEGA (Make Edo Great Again) plan, which in any case is an admittance of failure, was hurriedly put together as a response to the widespread criticisms of his lack lustre campaign and the lack of any documented policy promise.
“Since the launch they staged where Obaseki mumbled, stuttered and unwittingly betrayed the fact that he was also seeing the paper for the first time, we have not heard anything of it since.”
Edo APC also stated that Obaseki knew he could not spend an hour at a debate without name-calling or speak of his achievements.
