By Adesina Soyooye
Adams Oshiomhole, two-time Governor of Edo State, and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has, finally, climbed down from his high horse. He has presented his side which many Nigerians knew, and admired him for- his humble side.
On Monday, May 31, 2021, Oshiomhole sent a congratulatory letter to the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, on his victory at the Supreme Court over Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Ize-Iyamu was Oshiomhole’s candidate for the Governorship seat, and the man for whom Oshiomhole denied Obaseki his party’s ticket for a second term in office.
The judgement, delivered last Friday, put an end to the legal efforts of the APC to sack PDP’s Obaseki from office.
Obaseki and Oshiomhole were friends. As Governor, Obaseki was Oshiomhole’s Chief of Staff. At the end of Oshiomhole’s tenure, he dumped Ize-Iyamu, and chose Obaseki as his successor. In dumping him, he labelled the Pastor a Cultist and a thief.
Feeling betrayed, Ize-Iyamu defected to the PDP, and became its flagbearer. That was in 2016. Obaseki won, under the APC.
Along the line, Oshiomhole and Obaseki fell out, and became sworn political enemies. As the National Chairman of the APC, Oshiomhole denied Obaseki a second term ticket, and ironically, went back to his vomit – Ize-Iyamu, promised him the ticket, and convinced him to defect to the APC. That was to spite Obaseki.
Denied of a second term ticket, and pushed to the wall, Obaseki defected to the PDP, and picked the Governorship ticket, taking along with him, his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, another Oshiomhole boy.
The untidy situation cost Oshiomhole his high profile office as the APC National Chairman. The Party sacked him in a humiliating manner. It was Oshiomhole’s lowest moment as a politician. His case was compounded when Obaseki roundly defeated Ize-Iyamu.
Not a few people saw it as the spanking of Oshiomhole, and an, almost, final nail on his political coffin.
Since that defeat in 2020, they have been in Court with Obaseki, not to challenge the result of the election, but for Obaseki to be sacked for, allegedly, presenting a forged University of Ibadan degree certificate. They continued, even when the University appeared in Court, on being subpoenaed, and confirmed Obaseki as its graduate. Ize-Iyamu kept appealing the case till it got to the Supreme Court.
Last Friday, the Apex Court dismissed the case for lacking in merit.
Seeing that the case has reached its last bus stop, both Oshiomhole and Ize-Iyamu did what they should have done since 2020. They, finally congratulated Obaseki.
In a letter of congratulations to Obaseki, signed on his behalf by his Media Aide, Victor Oshioke, Oshiomhole reminded Obaseki of their (former) close relationship. He reminded him that two of them had gone “beyond being friends to becoming brothers of different parents”, and described what came between them as “unfortunate.”
The letter reads:
“Congratulations on your victory at the Supreme Court which has effectively laid to rest all matters arising from the last election.
“As I had repeatedly reminded you during our several meetings, our relationship has, through the years, developed beyond being friends to being brothers of different parents.
“Whatever happened is unfortunate, and I believe God has reasons for everything.
“I have put all behind me and moved on. As I have consistently advised, please be magnanimous in victory. You are the Governor of all Edo people regardless of political leanings.
“Once again, congratulations, Excellency. Please, accept the renewed assurances of my very best wishes and high regards.”
Whether the two will go back to the beautiful relationship they had before, and whether this would make the Governor to forgo a couple of investigations into some projects executed during Oshiomhole’s tenure as Governor, will wait for, perhaps, new developments.
