A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, says the bond that he has with his estranged political godson and Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, is stronger than mere friendship.
Oshiomhole’s confession comes barely two years after he clashed with the incumbent governor during the electioneering campaign for his second term ticket.
The feud consequently compelled Obaseki to defect from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party, despite efforts put up by some stakeholders to resolve their differences.
The governor would later seek re-election on the platform of the PDP where he defeated Oshiomhole’s anointed candidate and the APC governorship flagbearer, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Despite the media war waged by camps of Obaseki and Oshiomhole, both politicians were always in their best behaviour every time they ran into each at public functions.
This was also evident at the birthday thanksgiving of Nigeria’s oldest Catholic priest, Most Rev. Monsignor Thomas Oleghe, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Auchi, last year.
Addressing journalists after the event, Obaseki disclosed that he held no grudge against his predecessor, but only disagreed with his style of politics.
I don’t have anything personal against Oshiomhole. I may not like his politics, but he has not done anything personal against me. We all are interacting with the interest of the country and the development of our community at heart,” he said.
In an interview with The PUNCH on Friday, Oshiomhole told our correspondent that Obaseki remained his close brother and friend despite their reported frosty relationship.
The two-term governor of Edo State also affirmed that he still had fond memories of their time together.
He said, “For me, I have moved on. Obaseki remains my brother and friend. I have had the honour of working with him and God in his infinite power used me to ensure that he became the governor of Edo State.
“Sometimes, God wants us to know that He is the only one that is all-knowing. He is the only one who knows the beginning and the end. When, as human beings, everything seems to add up, we celebrate our intellect. But sometimes, God intervenes just for us to know that we don’t know it all and it is meant to remind us of our limited knowledge of life. He remains my brother and friend.
“When I was governor and he worked under me, my relationship with him was not that of boss and subordinate. He was one of the very few who called me by my nickname. When we travelled together on foreign trips, we didn’t book different suites in a hotel. Instead we shared the same suite in a hotel but slept in separate rooms. That’s how close we were.”