Oshiomhole a nobody in Edo cannot take away your mandate – PDP tells Bayelsa residents

Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has been described as a nobody in his home state.

Mr Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State who has been battling with his successor, Godwin Obaseki, for the sole of APC in the state, has also been warned to steer clear of Bayelsa State.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave the description and warning while reacting to the comments of the APC helmsman regarding the verdict of the Supreme Court in Bayelsa gubernatorial election.

The former governor had claimed that only his party met the requirements to be declared winner of governorship election in the South-South state despite the verdict of the apex which sacked the party’s candidate, David Lyon.

Constitutionally, a candidate in a governorship election is required to score the highest number of lawful votes, in addition to securing 25 per cent of votes in two-thirds of the local government areas in a state before he can be declared winner.

This, Oshiomhole said the candidate of the PDP, Diri Duoye, who is projected to benefit from the apex court verdict, has not met saying the oath of office expected to be taken tomorrow should not be administered to the opposition candidate.

Diri polled 143,172 votes, while Mr Lyon who won the November 16 election got 352,552 votes. The later was sacked due to false documents submitted by his deputy Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo.

“The people of Bayelsa State know as a fact that the INEC under our laws, cannot take instructions from any individual, let alone a factional national chairman of a dysfunctional political party like the APC,” Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesman of the PDP, who earlier described the comment as empty, said in a statement Thursday.

“The PDP calls on the people of Bayelsa State to remain calm as their mandate has been restored and cannot be taken away by the ranting of any individual who has no stake whatsoever in the wellbeing of his own home state,” it added.