The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, Tony Azegbemi, said just after Governor Godwin Obaseki joined the party from All Progressives Congress, APC, membership shot up and they had to request 100,000 membership cards from the national headquarters.
He said this in an interview with Vanguard, adding that Governor Obaseki’s issue with his former party was his refusal to allow some “godfathers blackmail him into opening the treasury to share and feed on government funds.”
Azegbemi said: “Before Governor Obaseki came to PDP, we had requested for 20,000 membership cards from the national headquarters of the party. We were on the verge of exhausting those cards when the governor found PDP.
Five days after he defected to PDP, we exhausted those 20,000 membership cards. I had to request for additional 100,000 PDP membership cards. The last time I checked, we had less than 10,000 cards left.
“So, when I told you that we are going to get over 200,000 people, I was not joking.”
On the peace agreement reached with the three governorship aspirants before Obaseki joined, the Edo PDP Chairman said there was no conflict.
His words: “The three gentlemen (PDP aspirants), who willingly took the decision to step down for Obaseki after looking at the prospects of the party and the interest of Edo people, are great men and patriots.
“They will be part of Governor Obaseki’s re-election campaign. Going forward, they are going to come over here with the governor and campaign across the state.
“Even if they do not go with the governor everywhere, you will see them in their units.”
