Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has vowed to support whoever among the aspirants under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerges as the party’s candidate for the state’s governorship election in 2024.
The governor said this yesterday during the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with the party’s stakeholders from the state as part of efforts to resolve the lingering crisis ahead of the next off-circle governorship election in 2024 in the state.
Already, Obaseki and his deputy, Phillip Shaibu, are immersed in a crisis over the plan of the deputy to succeed his principal.
The governor is also at loggerheads with the Vice Chairman South-South of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, who along with his allies controls the party structures in the state.
During his re-election bid, after the All Progressives Congress (APC) denied him ticket, the governor had to seek the assistance of the then Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, together with the Orbih camp delivered him at the polls.
However, the situation has changed with the governor falling out with the Federal Capital Territory minister, Nyesom Wike.
But speaking at the meeting in Abuja, Obaseki denied that there was any issue between him and his deputy, saying “he (Philip Shaibu) wants to contest and we are not asking him to drop his ambition. He is a freeborn of Edo State and he can contest. I will support whoever the party supports.”
Meanwhile, speaking after the stakeholders meeting, the acting National Chairman, Amb Umar Damagum, told journalists that the stakeholders have agreed to work together as one family and the meeting will be split into smaller committees towards solving the issues.
Daily Trust also reliably gathered after the meeting that the stakeholders discussed how the party could retain the governorship position in the state and charged members to make sacrifices for the party.