The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has denied appealing to the winner of the election, Godwin Obaseki to rejoin the party.
Obaseki won the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) having quit the APC in June.
A video that circulated on Wednesday appeared to show Ize-Iyamu appealing to the governor to rejoin the APC.
However, a statement by the Director of Communication and Media of the Osagie Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation, Mr. John Mayaki, said nothing could be farther from the truth.
He said that it was not true that the APC candidate held a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday where the video was allegedly recorded.
Mayaki emphasised that Ize-Iyamu has not spoken to the press since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Obaseki the winner of the election on Sunday.
He explained that the video in question was recorded three months ago and not on Wednesday as reported.
He called on the traditional media to perform due diligence in reporting events arising from Edo State, as unprofessionalism would render them as tools for PDP.
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Mayaki noted that by reporting that Ize-Iyamu appealed to Obaseki to return to APC on Wednesday, the media has “once again lent itself to the fabrications of Governor Godwin Obaseki and the PDP, as they did throughout the election”.
“We warned several times that the media should beware of fabrications from Obaseki and the PDP 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 appealed to Obaseki to come back to APC. The video in reference is from three months ago, not after the election but doctored by Governor Obaseki media handlers to seek undue legitimacy,” Mayaki stated.
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