… says report is PDP’s fabrication
THE candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Spetember 19 Edo State Governorship Election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has refuted reports that he asked his opponent, and the winner of the election, Godwin Obaseki to return to APC.
Ize-Iyamu said he never asked Obaseki to return to the APC and described reports to that effect as fabrications of Obaseki and the PDP.
A video, which went viral on Wednesday night, had captured the former Secretary to the Edo State Government appealing to Obaseki to return to the APC, saying, “We are going to talk to everybody. We are going to bring everybody back. I want to salute my brother, the governor.
I will like to appeal to him to return to the party. In every family, we have a disagreement. Let it not be said that it was this disagreement that pushed him out.”
But his spokesperson has said the televised media chat in question was done long before the election.
A statement by the Director of Communication and Media of his campaign, John Mayaki, while denying the report, urged the traditional media to always perform due diligence in reporting events arising from Edo, noting that unprofessionalism would make them tools in the hands of the PDP.
Ize-Iyamu said, “Many media houses have once again lent themselves to the fabrications of Obaseki and the PDP, as they did throughout the campaigns and the election.
“We warned many times that the media should beware of fabrications from Obaseki and the PDP’s camp, but they did not listen.
“That is why they have reported that the election was free and fair, and that is why they have said our candidate pleaded with Obaseki to come back to APC.
‘’The video in reference is from three months ago, not after the election but doctored by Obaseki’s media handlers to seek undue legitimacy.
“We wonder if the media were being sponsored by Obaseki and the PDP, as it seems implausible that they actually believed the story.
“This is even more so, when reporters in Benin City would report Pastor Ize-Iyamu, who is currently in Abuja, where the various media organisations are also domiciled, this is to tell you the suspicion inherent in the viral video.
“Pastor Ize-Iyamu was reported in the stories as speaking from Abuja but it was the Benin reporters that covered the story. Were the reporters transported to Abuja?
“Do these media agencies actually believe the stories they carry? Obaseki and the PDP have a way of leaking false news to the media. The media have to be sensitive and professional in receiving these news.”
Ize-Iyamu also drew the attention of the public to a fake twitter account purportedly belonging to him, which he said had been disseminating false information.
The governorship candidate said, “I only wish most of the media had been more professional during the election in Edo State but they were not. What is done is done.
“They (the media) pretended not to know how violent and anti-democratic the election was in many parts of Edo State, including Egor Local Government Area in Benin City.
“So, they (the media) reported that the election was free and fair. Going forward, let them (the media) verify all news before passing it on. It is the basic ethic of the profession.”
