Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday accused his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, of betrayal, describing him as ungrateful.

Wike said former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomole, had been vindicated.

He said he was sorry for ignoring Oshiomhole’s warnings about Obaseki, adding that everything the former APC chairman said about the character of the Edo State governor had come to pass.

Wike spoke during the inauguration of an expanded Community Secondary School project in Omuanwa, Ikwere Local Government Area.

Wike’s war of words with Obaseki began with Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu threatening to leave the PDP due to a crisis in the state chapter.

Obaseki and Shaibu defected to the PDP after the APC denied them second term tickets.

Wike urged the party to sanction Shaibu, describing his threat to leave the party as “a shame.” He added that the deputy governor was ranting.

“A deputy governor comes and threatens the whole party where we are governors…who is his father,” Wike had said.

Obaseki reacted by saying that the PDP does not belong to Wike and that “political bullies” were not accepted in Edo State.

Wike Attacks Governor

Firing back yesterday, Wike said: “If you ask anybody or check the DNA of Godwin Obaseki, what you will see in that DNA is serial betrayal and ungratefulness.

“Let me stand today to apologise to Adams Oshiomole, who had been vindicated by telling us that we would see the true colour, the insincerity and the ungratefulness of Governor Obaseki.

“Let me say you have been vindicated. You were right and we were wrong. I have never seen people so ungrateful in life and people who can betray everything.

“I will never betray anybody because what you will see in my DNA is sincerity, consistency and teamwork.”

Wike also blasted Obaseki for calling him a bully.

He said: “You came to beg a bully for you to have a ticket. A bully was your DG Campaign and a bully bullied you into Government House. What a shame.

“You came back with your wife to thank the bully saying that after God, the bully made it possible for you to be there.”

Wike said Obaseki’s utterances were beyond politics, adding that only politics would make people know the character of an individual.

On Obaseki’s claims that he threatened the PDP because of Ndudi Elumelu, Wike said he only stood by the party’s earlier agreement on who should emerge as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

“PDP wrote to the National Assembly nominating the Minority Leader of the House. The Speaker by the connivance of some PDP people announced Ndudi Elumelu as the leader of PDP.

“That is sabotage – APC nominating Leader for us in the House. And I say no, we can’t accept this,” he said.

Wike said he had no business with Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State leaving the PDP.

“Satan has agents. Most of the people you see are agents of Satan. I am not in the class of Obaseki. We can’t be the same. I was the DG of his campaign.

“I went there for three days and stayed there without having my bath. We bought even the drinks we drank there. It was Lucky Igbinedon that fed us. I have never seen somebody like Obaseki in my life,” he said.

‘I have more stake in PDP than Obaseki’
Wike said he would never support the injustice and impunity that Obaseki planned for PDP.

“This is not the Benin artefacts where you are challenging the Oba, which you lost woefully. This is politics.

“Obaseki, I have more stake in PDP than you. In all the elections we had run, he made no contribution. If you ask him he would say he didn’t know.

“A party had done congresses, formed structures, you came and we told the party’s structure to support you and they did.

“The Zonal Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih , was campaign manager under the COVID. COVID affected him and we had to take him out. People should not be ungrateful in life,” he said.

Wike recalled that a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, predicted that Obaseki would win the election but that he would not stay in PDP, observing that the Edo governor was frequently holding meetings with the APC.

On his presidential ambition that Obaseki referred to, Wike said: “I am qualified if not more than qualified. I challenge Obaseki and his cohorts, some of the presidential aspirants who are using him to talk to come out openly.

“If I decide to run tomorrow, I challenge everybody, including Obaseki, what you will see you will say you never know this is how politics is.

“If I want to run, Obaseki can’t give me permission. I gave him the seat. I will win. Send your aspirants to pray I don’t come out, if I come out I will defeat them.”

The Rivers governor said whereas people could see his giant strides that had transformed Port Harcourt, Edo capital city Benin had remained the same.”

“Remember it has started. By the time I make you emaciate, you will know where you are. Since you are ready for war, don’t backslide. Stay there and be prepared. Your envy will not help you,” he said.

Wike further dared Obaseki to publish the contractors working on projects in Edo, boasting that in Rivers, the contractors were known.

He said the school being inaugurated was built by an indigenous contractor.

‘Obaseki lacks capacity’

On the Edo PDP crisis, Wike said: “I cannot see how you can be a governor and you are looking for a party structure. It shows you don’t have the capacity. Who are the party leaders that will not come to the governor? And you are looking for harmonisation.

“Harmonise what? Did we harmonise the governor and the deputy governor? When you were coming, why didn’t you give the PDP people Deputy Governor? Then you want to harmonise the party structure that people have suffered for.

“Show you are a leader. Leadership is not by mouth. It is by action. I challenge Obaseki to come and cause crisis in Rivers as he said I was causing in Edo.

“I cannot be intimidated. You have started what you cannot finish. I am a capacity governor. If I have resources, it is to the glory of God and it is part of the resources that were deployed to you. If you are not happy return the resources.”

Wike faulted Obaseki’s claims that he compelled the party to hold its last National Convention in Port Harcourt, explaining that his position on the venue of the convention was based on PDP’s earlier decision.

He said following the decision to adopt Port Harcourt as the venue, he had invited all hotel owners and urged them to spend money and give their facilities a face-lift in preparation for that convention.

“They spent their money. But some presidential aspirants went back to say they would not go to Port Harcourt.

“As a lover of the state and this party, I said you cannot make people to spend money and then overnight you say you won’t come again.

“But assuming though not conceding that I threatened the party, I have invested in the party; Rivers has invested in the party.

“We have voted for PDP since 1999 till now. Ask Obaseki whether he has done anything for PDP. Has he voted for PDP?

“The only election that he voted was his own when we gave him an umbrella. I have more stake in PDP. Obaseki has never supported PDP.

“It was when his godfather chased you away and you came begging, kneeling down. People came with pressure. Ordinarily, you are a tenant.

“If I threaten the party I am a full and financial member of the party. But you that are a tenant. How can you threaten our party?

“You were a governor in APC and the PDP won two senatorial districts. PDP won four House of Representatives. I am a governor here, APC does not have one seat.”

Wike a serious governor, says Gana
Inaugurating the project, a former Minister of Information Prof. Jerry Ghana, said he honoured the invitation because it came from a serious governor.

Describing Wike as an asset to the PDP, he urged him to run for president, saying the entire Middlebelt was in support of him.

Gana said the PDP was coming to rescue the country from insecurity and poor economy, insisting that the country with her abundant resources had no business with poverty.

Gana said the country must be restructured to avoid concentration of power at the centre promising that if elected PDP would restructure Nigeria.