A retired Commissioner of Police and the Edo Central Senatorial district leader of the Labour Party, LP, Friday Ibadin, has denied dumping the party for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Sunrise reports that the former police chief also denied collapsing the Obidient movement structures to the PDP to help its candidate, Asue Ighodalo win the forthcoming September 21, governorship election in the state.
Ibadin, who declared his full support for the governorship candidate of the party, Mr Olumide Akpata, made the denial while reacting to a viral video where the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo in the company of the former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Friday Itulah, paid him a visit.
He said the visit was interpreted to mean that he purportedly decided to dump the Labour Party and defect to the PDP to support Ighodalo.
“The lies by the Asue-led delegation have witnessed poor acceptance by the public as they were quick to point at all the various desperate moves by PDP to deceive the enlightened Edo people to accept their candidate, Asue, by parading PDP members as fake Obidients who defected from either Labour Party or Obidient Movement”.
“Being a traditional man and an in-law to the former Speaker, Hon. Friday Itulah, it is my responsibility to open my doors to any visitor, especially as Hon. Itulah is my in-law, and as a host, my duty was to open my doors to them”, he said.
He stated that he remains a vibrant member of the Labour Party and a follower of the Obidient movement.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Obidient movement in the Edo Central senatorial district, Onohinosen Ibhafidon, has, however, questioned why lies are being used as political tools by the ruling party in the state to deceive the people of the state.
Ibhafidon, who assured that Obidients are united for Olumide Akpata noted that they are above ethnic politics but with eyes focused on good governance.
He, however, urged the PDP to focus on ways to sell their candidate rather than lies and deception which they attempted with Chief Ibadin.
According to him, Edolites are wiser and only want good and inclusive governance that can deliver unlike what Nigerians are currently experiencing in the hands of APC.
“To confirm the unity of the Obidient movement in the state, and their massive support for the Edo State gubernatorial candidate, Olumide Akpata, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi has charged all lovers of good governance to support Akpata so that the state can witness the massive development as being witnessed in Abia State”, he added.