The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, was left deflated and completely disgraced today at the Palace of the Oba of Benin after his convoy was blocked by angry residents, numbering in hundreds, who booed and disparaged the Governor as a thief.
Governor Obaseki was reportedly at the Palace for royal blessings as he flagged off his campaign as the candidate of the PDP in the Governorship election.
Upon sighting his convoy from a small distance, the people, hitherto rejoicing and making merry as is usual at the ancient Palace, immediately formed an angry mob of protesters and confronted the embattled Governor with chants of “thief” and other disgraceful epithets, demanding that he leaves the Palace and not “pollute the environment with his dishonorable self.”
Obaseki and his accompanying aides were left perplexed and all attempts to salvage the situation only further angered the crowd who insisted that he leaves, stating that he has been rejected and is no longer their Governor.
Such rejection at the Palace holds great significance in the Benin Kingdom and Edo State as a whole.
It is perhaps the greatest indication that the Governor, presently struggling to get his new party, the PDP, in shape, will lose the Sept. 19 election.
A palace source who pleaded anonymity said “what took place today is a bad omen for Governor Obaseki and his PDP. He selfishly came for blessings at a place he has not really sowed any good seeds and he received boos and disgrace. It is a clear sign of rejection and what is to come.”
“Some of his followers have already gotten the cue and they are abandoning him despite threats and offering of monetary rewards. That campaign, starting like this, can never be successful. The people don’t want this man anymore.”
