By Darlington Okpebholo Ray
When a man speaks from both sides of his mouth, he loses credibility. His “good morning” becomes suspicious. It forces you to check your wristwatch to determine if it’s morning or midday.
This is why one must exercise extreme caution before making a statement or speaking. Double-standard thinking is harmful; it undermines trust and confidence.
This scenario depicts a man who, according to the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a renowned Nigerian economist, suffers from oral diarrhoea. The reason is that he speaks before reasoning.
Oshiomhole accused the former minister of having a hand in the $2.1 billion armaments sale, which was later shown to be a vendetta manoeuvre by an outgoing governor Oshiomhole, whose attempt to obtain a loan in the final hours of his administration was denied by the then-minister.
Oshiomhole had initially called for the prosecution of former President Goodluck Jonathan and Okonjo-Iweala, claiming that they approved $2.1 billion in weaponry without the approval of the National Assembly.
The Debt Management Office then confirmed that professional analysis revealed that Oshiomhole’s loan request, which relied on low-interest World Bank loans to offset high-interest commercial loans, would have left Edo state with a significant debt burden that would have been difficult to repay.
According to a statement made by the former minister’s media aide, Paul Nwabuikwu, it is unethical for the governor to launch a smear campaign against her because she denied his fraudulent loan request.
This is none other than Comrade Adams Aliyu Eric Oshiomhole, the former leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), twice-elected governor of Edo State, former national chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), and current senator representing the Edo North Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
Adams Oshiomhole possesses oratory abilities, but instead of utilising them to promote peace and bridges, he uses them to harm those around him further.
A example in point is Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who was called unprintable things by Comrade Oshiomhole when running for governor against Governor Godwin Obaseki in 2016.
Ize-Iyamu then ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whereas the incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki, was a member of the All Progressives Congress.
He called Ize-Iyamu various unprintable terms, to the point where he lost the election to him.
When Ize-Iyamu finally joined the APC, he opted to run in the 2020 governorship race against the state’s current governor, Godwin Obaseki.
At this point, Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole agreed to advocate for him. Still, this choice was more detrimental to Ize-Iyamu than beneficial, as the PDP, with the assistance of its flexible media team and other stakeholders, discovered videos of everything Oshiomhole had previously stated against Ize-Iyamu.
The PDP set up a 24-hour jingle on the Ring Road near Sokponba Junction, in which Oshiomhole’s words against Ize-Iyamu were continually broadcast to benefit all passers-by electorates.
This conduct effectively ended Ize-Iyamu’s political career in Edo State, as he lost the election to Godwin Obaseki, ending his political ambition to become governor. The Ize-Iyamu that many of us know has never and will never forgive Oshiomhole for destroying his life for what was later revealed to be all falsehoods; at least, he declared so while campaigning in 2020 for the same candidate he demonised in 2016.
Oshiomhole did not spare the late Chief Tony Anenih, a former PDP Board of Trustees member.
He called him all kinds of names in an attempt to damage him. He also accused the late political figure of being a political godfather in the state.
The Edo North Senator did not stop there; he also extended his dragnet to Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, whom he publicly attacked at every opportunity, despite the fact that his son and former governor Lucky Igbinedion was his primary sponsor in becoming Edo state governor.
How about the late Samuel Ogbemudia? He was not spared, either.
For John Odigie Oyegun, the former national chairman of the APC, Oshiomhole ensured that he was ousted from his position, which he later assumed.
How about Tomi Ikimi? He was humiliated by the same Oshiomhole.
All of these chronicled faults worked against his party, the APC, in the state’s 2020 governorship race, which it lost to Godwin Obaseki of the PDP.
The people of Edo State did not despise Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu; they wanted to repay Oshiomhole with their own monies and show him that power belonged to the people, not an individual.
Oshiomhole also claimed that Asue Ighodalo, the PDP 2024 governorship candidate, had been disqualified by the court, but he was unable to provide a citation for the decision.
And now, the same Oshiomhole is standing on podiums advertising for his candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and the state’s people feel he will fail miserably once more.
The indices are showing once again, just as he showed so much desperation in the run-off to the 2020 Gubernatorial election, where he became the spokesman of Team POI and, at the same time, media director of the APC campaign organisation, he has begun again, pushing the real constant, Monday Okpebholo, to the background like an apprentice, mounting podiums and handling the microphone, speaking and answering questions for the candidate.
It is a common scenario that eventually leads to massive defeat, particularly in this race, when the PDP has a world-class candidate in Dr. Asue Ighodalo, an internationally acknowledged perfectionist with a track record of integrity, competence, and credibility.
Political analysts feel that the APC candidate would fail not because of his acts or inactions but because of the person he has chosen to align with—Adams Aliyu Eric Oshiomhole.
Dcn. Darlington Okpebholo Ray is the Lead Spokesman for Team Asue Media Organisation and the Diaspora Media Directorate of the PDP/Asue/Ogie Campaign Council. He writes from London, United Kingdom.
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