The All Progressives Congress (APC)’s candidate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu says Comrade Adams Oshiomhole rained insults on him during the 2016 gubernatorial elections because they were in opposing camps.
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council in the election, Nyesom Wike recently mocked Oshiomhole and Ize-Iyamu over their newfound friendship.
“Adams Oshiomhole told Edo people that Ize Iyamu was rusticated from school; that he poured acid on a fellow student that destroyed his manhood. That he is an armed robber that cannot be trusted with money,” Wike said.
But Ize-Iyamu said that those dwelling on the past conveniently forgot that the same Oshiomhole had praised him at several fora afterwards.
“If during the campaigns for the 2016 governorship election he was abusing me because I was on the other side, what do you expect?
“Of course, he needed to abuse me, especially when he didn’t have a good product (Obaseki),” he told Vanguard.
Read Also: Prof Yusuf: “Can Fulani own in the East what Igbo own in the North?”
He said that instead of commencing his campaign with his first-term achievements, Obaseki resorted to blackmailing Chairman of APC National Campaign Council for the forthcoming election and Kano State Governor, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
“Yes, Oshiomhole threw punches at me in 2016, but people tend to have a short memory. Oshiomhole was at Ben Idahosa University, when I was being given a doctorate and he spent over one hour praising me for my contributions in his government and the role I am playing in the state.
“Oshiomhole also came to my farm at one time, when I was graduating students and he listed the roles I was playing in the state.
“At my 50th birthday, there was no word he didn’t use to describe me, including the fact that if he wants to mention those who have helped him to succeed in government, there is no way my name will not be there.
“I am sure that those who had gone through campaigns before will tell you that people will call their opponents all sorts of names during electioneering campaigns, but if you allow those things to bother you, they will distract you,” Ize-Iyamu said.