Emerging reports claimed that the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has revealed why he boycotted Auchi Day celebration in Edo State.
The Herald gathered that Oshiomhole through his chief Press Secretary, Simon Ebegbulem, said he had told the Otaru of the Auchi Kingdom, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aliru Momoh Ikelebe III about his inability to be at the event due to other pressing matters of state.
According to him, “Comrade Oshiomhole was in Abuja attending to some state functions and being a son of the revered Otaru of Auchi, he communicated his inability to be present to him. The King is his father and he spoke to him as a son, explaining his difficulty in making it down to Auchi on the said day.”
Meanwhile, a close associate of the party chairman who spoke on the matter said: “it was the considered opinion of his strategists to stay away from the celebration in order to avoid a repeat of what happened on November 2, 2019, at the Convocation of Edo University, Iyamho.
“First, no one told the chairman that the meeting was meant to settle issues between him and Obaseki. It was purely a community event that the Chairman was invited to attend. It was not meant to be a reconciliation meeting. No one told us that.
“In spite of that, the comrade-chairman still sent a delegation to the event but on getting near the entrance, they noticed some faces. The faces of the same people who are being used to foment trouble in the state, thugs. Those were the people who attacked guests on November 2 during the Edo University convocation.
“Naturally, our people had to turn back because they understood what the game plan was. It was to cause an uproar and then accuse the Chairman of being behind that.
“Personally, I think anyone interested in settling any so-called rift should ask Obaseki to do the needful. He knows what to do. Let him issue a fresh and public proclamation for the inauguration of the state Assembly. Let us start from there first and then other things can follow.”