The lawmaker representing Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, has insisted that the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, should inform Governor Monday Okpebholo before visiting the state.
Oshiomhole said it is a matter of decency and self-respect for Peter Obi to do so ahead of his visit.
Okpebholo had earlier warned Obi last week against visiting the state without prior security clearance, linking a recent trip by the former presidential candidate to a security breach that allegedly resulted in the deaths of three people.
However, the governor’s remarks were greeted with widespread criticism, with many accusing him of using intimidation tactics against political opponents.
Reacting to the matter on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, on Friday, Oshiomhole said it is important to inform authorities when personalities like Obi plan to visit a state.
Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo, pointed out that the school in question, which Obi is expected to visit, is fully funded and maintained by the state government.
“Let’s face it; the property of the Edo State Government is entrusted in the hands of the Edo State governor. If anyone, myself included, goes to Enugu or Anambra when Obi was governor and I want to visit a government-owned facility, like a nursing institution, it is a matter of decency and self-respect to inform the authorities.
“Peter Obi was my colleague, and we knew each other very well. I liked him then, and I still do, but politically, we don’t agree. I do not subscribe to his views on certain matters,” Oshiomhole said.
