Oshiomhole rejects Governor Obaseki's Christmas gifts of four cows and 10 bags of rice

ALL Progressives Congress (APC) chairman Adams Oshiomhole has rejected a Christmas gift from his successor the current Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki as the ongoing spat between the two of them shows no sign of abating.

Since the last general elections in February, Messrs Oshiomhole and Obaseki have been at loggerheads in what is seen as a battle for the control of Edo State. Governor Obaseki has accused his predecessor of meddling in the running of the party in the state and trying to impose his candidates on the government.

Crusoe Osage, the special adviser to Edo State governor, said the conventional Christmas presents reserved for former governors of the state that were sent to Oshiomhole were turned back. He added that messengers from the state government were dispatched to deliver the gifts on Christmas eve.

Mr Osage said: “The messengers said they met the mother of the former governor who rejected the items, stating that her son would not accept the gifts. The gift items meant for Comrade Oshiomhole include four cows and 10 bags of rice.”

He added that the distribution of Christmas gifts was an annual ritual by the state government which serves as an expression of love, further strengthening the ties between the government and the people. Mr Osage said the gifts were distributed to other government functionaries, political appointees, heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders and heads of institutions of higher learning, among other prominent people in the society.

According to Mr Osage, Governor Obaseki and Comrade Oshiomhole had been locked in a political tussle over the governor’s policy choices focused on prioritising the peoples’ welfare as against pressures by a handful of politicians to share the state’s resources. He said the governor had set the political rift aside to perform the ritual of sending the gifts to Comrade Oshiomhole.