Cajetan Mmuta The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant in Edo State governorship election slated for September 19, Kenneth Imasuagbon, said yesterday denied allegation making the round in the social media and some quarters that he allegedly collected about $2 million from Governor Godwin Obaseki in order to step down for him.
This was as he insisted that he had not stepped down for Governor Obaseki, who is seeking re-election ahead of the party’s primaries scheduled for today.
Obaseki defected to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress (APC), following his disqualification to contest the party’s primary election, held on Monday, June 22.
Imasuagbon in a statement signed by him and which was made available to newsmen yesterday in Benin, the state capital, debunked the allegation that he had accepted $2 million from the governor in order to step down for him.
He stressed that he was in the governorship race to win and not to make up the number of aspirants for the PDP ticket, noting that the allegation about his alleged acceptance of $2 million from the governor was the handiwork of Obaseki’s camp to sway the votes of delegates in his favour.
“The governor knows I am popular with the delegates and he is doing everything possible to change this,” Imasuagbon added, saying: “For the sake of emphasis, I have not and will not consider accepting any money for me to step down from the race for the PDP ticket.
He noted: “I also understand that they are trying to manipulate the delegate list to their favour. I want to warn that if they try it, we will do everything possible to resist it and we shall meet in the court of law.”
He, therefore, urged all delegates to come out en masse and vote for him in today’s (Thursday) party primaries, just as he promised to wipe away poverty from the state if elected as governor.
New Telegraph gathered that some highly placed individuals within the ruling All Progressives Congress and influential personalities within the state and close to Aso Rock are said to be bent on watertight measures to scuttle Obaseki’s chances of securing the PDP’s ticket for the epic governorship battle.
Meanwhile, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party were said to have taken money from the governor in order to soften the ground for him, but key officials of the NWC have since denied their involvement in such allegations.
However, the duo of Ken Imasuagbon and Omoregie Ogbeide Ihama, who are aspirants in the race for the Dennis Osadebay Avenue Government House were said to have vowed not to step down for Obaseki, but the immediate past state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Osi Orbih was said to be rooting for the deputy governorship seat in the state.
