… says party heading to extinction in Edo
Ben Peters, Abuja
A 2020 governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Engineer Gideon Ikhine has described the party in the state as one that has embarked on a journey of self-destruction.
Engr. Gideon Ikhine who stated this in an exclusive interview with our reporter said “my brother, it is glaring, even to the blind and the deaf, that PDP is on its way to self destruction and extinction as it’s intra and irreconcilable battle is self serving and not in the interest of the people.
Engr. Gideon Ikhine who recently dumped the PDP for the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) said ” all efforts to make sure that factions in the PDP see reasons to mend fences in the interest of the people proved abortive as they were both prepared to fight to finish.
“You will agree with me that such fight is not in the interest of the people put self serving. Principal actors and their supporting characters are seeing their partisan politicking on the platform of what benefits they stand to gain individually and collectively. Else would you tell me that they claim not to know that this continued fight has deterred the progress of the state.
On why he is joining the APC, Engr. Gideon Ikhine said, “My movement from the PDP was hatched by the irreconcilable difference preceding the last general election. In my place, the Edo central, we have a convention on how elective positions are rotated between agbazilo and Okpebho. In the last election the PDP ran counter to the belief of my people by presenting a candidate for a third term which was not acceptable to our people. Invariably, PDP had no candidate so all Edo Central people irrespective of party affiliation had to work for and support the candidate of the APC.
“It the simply logical for me having worked against a party I belonged to because it could not settle his house, having worked for another party in such an important election, what moral justification do I now have to continue with the PDP.?
“In my political partisanship spanning over twenty-five years, I have never been involved in any form of antipathy activity. So I can not start it now. If you were in my shoes will you still remain in the PDP?
“Having worked for All Progressives Congress, APC, in the last House of Assembly, National Assembly and Presidential elections and won all the elections for APC in my local government, therefore I no longer have the justification to remain in PDP because i do not like involving in any anti-paty activity.
On the rumor making the rounds that he collected millions of dollars from Governor Godwin Obaseki before stepping down for him in the 2020 governorship race, Engr. Gideon Ikhine who debunked the rumour saying “after stepping down, i donated my campaign office and structure to Obaseki and suffered the loss of two cars during his campaign period.
Since Gov. Obaseki assumed office I have only met him once in May, 2023 to tell him the need to bring the two factions in PDP together and resolved the issue in order to work as one team in the next Edo governorship election.