Oshiomhole made the allegation while fielding questions on a talk-show on Arise TV. He accused the Edo state Governor of not only disrespecting the esteemed Benin palace but also Edo tradition by the wearing a cap as he visited the monarch last week.

The former APC Chairman said, “You call yourself a Bini man, yet you came to Bini palace wearing a cap in the company of other PDP governors.”

Last week, Governor Obaseki led a group of visiting PDP governors to the palace on a courtesy visit to the Benin monarch before proceeding to the Sam Ogbemudia Stadium to launch his campaign for a second term.

Responding to a question on if Obaseki’s popularity was a threat to his party in an interview on Channels TV Sunday Politics, Oshiomhole stated that Obaseki who is the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not a threat because he is not even eligible to contest elections.

Oshiomhole said “How can he be a threat? A man who is not even eligible to contest elections? How can a snail be a threat in a race where tigers are involved?”

The APC Chieftain insisted that they don’t want to repeat the same mistake they made in Bayelsa state in 2019.

Oshiomhole said “In 2016, PDP took Obaseki to the court that he forged certificates. Now, you remember one governor that said there are tax collectors when something moved, they collected the taxes and the certificates became okay. But let me tell you, members of APC’s screening committee knew that the man who forged documents, even if you vote for him, you know what happened to us in Bayelsa state. So, I need to assure you that the decision of the screening committee members to disqualify the sitting governor was based on the evidence provided by PDP leaders in 2016, which they found to be correct and you do not repeat the same mistake twice. The only task we have is to go to every unit, every community, every ward, every local government area and remind them of where we stopped and ask them since we left, what new thing has been brought? If I failed Godwin Obaseki’s examination, by the grace of God on Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, I will score A1.”

Oshiomhole made the call in Abuja at a reception in honour of the Director-General, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder, while expressing concern over the non-chalant attitude of leaders towards improving the lives of Nigerian workers.

He, however, urged the organised labour to adopt aggressive engagements to change the status quo.

“We have to do things differently about minimum wage,” he said, noting that whereas prices of goods and services had gone up astronomically in the country, workers wages have remained static.

“So if every other costs are changing, and labour cost is constant…, somebody is being squeezed.

“Rising crises, stagnant wages, a very miserable lifestyle, and you have to fight for that.

“And we now see in Nigeria the difference between signing an agreement and the challenge of translating those laws, and even the contradiction of signing laws first before getting consultants to tell us how to implement these laws.

“Just to tell you that from inside, I am much more convinced that unions should not only exist but should have the capacity and ruthlessly deploy that capacity to ensure that the resources of states are dissipated in favour of working people and working families,” the former NLC president said.

Oshiomhole commended ILO for its focus on Youth Employment and Social Justice, adding that focus should also be on ageing population and underemployment of young persons.

He said Nigeria ought to do something about its population growth which was at 3 percent annually, as against 2 percent national economic growth.

“With population at 3 percent, poverty must be endemic, it is not rocket science, so we so need to have conversations on various aspects of society, particularly at what we do differently to get the youth busy.”

He urged young people to collaborate to fight poverty by pushing those in government to create the environment for them to think and change the narratives.

Earlier, the ILO DG, Mr. Guy Ryder, said Nigeria trade union movements have made great impact in defence of basic fundamental rights in line with the provisions of the organisation.

According to him, the organised labour has also played extraordinary role in building the nation’s democracy, saying the consistency was in line with the fundamental values of the ILO.