Oshiomhole Is Not My Godfather, Says Ize-Iyamu

“I don’t support godfatherism in politics because they have spoilt the word. If you follow Edo politics, you would have been told that the first person to fight godfatherism is me.
“In 2005 I formed a group called The Grace Group and our slogan was ‘No man is God ‘ because at that time some people, by virtue of their position and power, were being regarded as gods, that anything they say is what will happen. So I said ‘No. No human being is God’.
“Even the president is not God. The governor is not God. So which political leader can then be God? Oshiomhole came and said ‘No to godfatherism’, he was simply following from my slogan.
“People have been coming to ask me who would be my godfather and I tell them, it’s only God. Apart from God who I worship and adore, there’s no other person. On what basis? I can respect people. I respect elders, I respect traditional rulers, I respect religious leaders, I respect people who have made their marks in various fields. I even respect my juniors as long as they behave themselves. So who will be my godfather? To do what?
“How can Oshiomhole be my godfather? If you ask him that question he would say ‘Pastor? How can I be Pastor’s godfather?’ When Oshiomhole wanted to contest for governorship in 2007, he heard people saying I wanted to contest in the governorship election.
“He had to come and meet me and say ‘Please, I want to contest ‘. I agreed because as I told him, ‘Where you come from, Edo North has never produced a governor before. At least my place has already had. So it would be good for me to support you’.
“I supported him that time. In 2012 during the next election, he begged me to be his Director General. After that I was the National Vice Chairman in charge of the whole South-South. Is that sort of person, who wants to be governor now, someone who would be looking for a governor now?
“Godfathers are for children who haven’t achieved or learned anything. You know among the Catholics, when a child is born they find someone to be the godfather to the child. In politics, am I a child? Am I a learner? In which part of Edo state do I not have friends?
“As far back as 1999, I was already Chief of Staff. In 2003 I was the Secretary to Government. There’s nobody in the state who does not know me and they respect me. Most of the employment you are seeing in the state, it was when I was in office, be it civil servants teachers, doctors and the likes.
“Since my time in office they have not employed anybody. So who is going to be my godfather? To be what? But if you say ‘Pastor will you disrespect leaders? Will you fight them?’ Why would I do so?
“Oshiomhole is a friend. He is older than me. He is the former national chairman, a former governor. Of course I respect him. He also respects me so it’s a friendship built on mutual respect. Luckily we are in the same political party, we are campaigning together.
“Let me tell you truth, all this issue about Oshiomhole being a godfather, there is no truth in it because if there’s also one man who fought against godfatherism, which I started, it’s Oshiomhole. I heard the former governor saying he is a godfather.
“The only time Oshiomhole became a godfather was in imposing somebody that people did not know or want. That is when he became a godfather. He solely imposed him and everywhere he is going to today, he is apologising. That same man is calling him godfather.
Why are you calling him godfather now? The only reason can be that what he did before, he is refusing to do it now. He imposed you before, this time he said he won’t do that. That is where the quarrel started. He was looking for a name to call him and he came up with godfather.
“Yes, he was a godfather to you because you were a baby, nobody knew you. You know that. Ask the governor if before his election he has ever voted in Edo state before. The answer is no. He was a complete stranger.
“Everywhere he went it was this man that spoke for him. So he was your godfather. So if you call him godfather, yes he was your godfather then but the man said he has repented now. But if you play Oshiomhole’s tapes you would see that he said no to godfatherism.
“So if he said it, he can’t be a godfather. If Oshiomhole comes tomorrow to say he wants to be my godfather, I would remind him that after I said “no man is God”, he said “no to godfatherism”, Pastor Ize-Iyamu told a broadcasting station, recently.

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Omo Obazee, Asaba

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