Edo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, has denied rumours of a rift between Governor Godwin Obaseki and the leadership of the party.
He said that such rumours were from fifth columnists and those who wanted to cause apprehensions and do not wish the party well.
Dr. Aziegbemi, who spoke with journalists in Benin weekend in an interview, said: “In fact, I can say this anywhere: it is a very mutually respected relationship between the party and the government.
“This is all because the governor is who he is. He believes we can play politics fairly, justly and so those potential rumuors that people are imagining is not there. And I think I can assure everybody that we expect it not to be there because the governor is not that kind of person.
“He will basically tell you that this is what I want to do, but make sure that it is in line with the party’s Constitution and once it is in line with the party’s Constitution, I am all for it.
“So normally I do not comment on members’ comments. I respect everyone’s opinion. Do I agree or disagree? That is my personal opinion, which I might not wish to air.
“PDP is a very big party. Even in a family of two, three, four or five, you have issues. Am I saying we might not have issues, worries and fears?
“Of course they will be there and my job is to manage those fears. Don’t forget, some of these apprehensions stem from the fact that people have fear.
“That fear can be genuine, it can also be a wrong perception. So my job is to explain to everyone among the critical segment of the party to say this fear you are having is not real and this is why it is not real.
“Once I take out time to explain to the different stakeholders and critical segment of the party I think they are good.
“Of course there will be fears. Of course, there will be apprehension, of course there will be people feeling that they are being shortchanged. My job is to explain that no everybody will be carried along.
“Governor Obaseki is that kind of person; he will carry everybody along, it might not be everybody at the same time and that is where we need to do the explanation,” Aziegbemi added.