Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Edo State, Mr. Ken Ihensekhien, on Monday, distanced himself from the attack by some angry youths on Governor Godwin Obaseki, last Tuesday, during which he (Obaseki) was stoned with sachets of pure water.
Recall that the governor was attacked by some unidentified youths at Irrua, Esan Central Local Government Area of the State, where he had gone to consult with leaders of the party in the area, in connection with the party’s forthcoming primaries ahead of the 2019 general elections.
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The governor was allegedly accused of advocating the adoption of a consensus arrangement for the primaries as against the direct primaries preferred by some party members in the area to elect the flag bearers.
But, Ihensekhien, a former Commissioner in the state, in his denial in a statement he issued to newsmen in Benin, described the allegation that he had hands in the attack as baseless.
“My attention has been drawn to some media reports linking me with the attack on Governor Godwin Obaseki’s convoy by some angry youths recently at Irrua, Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State.
“The baseless accusation purportedly made against me by some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Igueben Local Government Area of the state, to say the least, was misguided and politically motivated.
“To put the record straight, I was present at the meeting with His Excellency, Governor Obaseki at Irrua and those present will attest to the fact that I spoke my mind boldly and sincerely, unlike some of the APC leaders who were not courageous enough to speak their minds, even though they habour serious misgivings in their minds about the APC administration in the state.
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“Such APC leaders instead of burying their heads in shame for behaving as cowards, but have decided to turn around to vilify and blackmail me for speaking my mind.
Therefore, I wish to state unequivocally that I never at any given time asked or sponsored the person or persons to molest the governor, an action I am totally against.
“Furthermore, I wish to restate that my comments during the meeting with Governor Obaseki was for the interest of our great party and should not be misinterpreted to mean that I dislike the state governor.
“It is my sincere opinion that we, the APC leaders in Edo Central Senatorial District in particular and the state in general should not pretend about the fact that we need to do more to be able to defeat our opponents in the area during the forthcoming general elections.
“But if some disgruntled leaders of APC have genuine reasons to believe that I have hands or that I played any role on the attack on the state governor, they should come up with their facts and evidences or otherwise keep quiet and repent from blackmailing innocent politicians, especially my humble self”, the statement said.