In a recent development surrounding the upcoming Edo gubernatorial election, the centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) War Room has fact-checked claims surrounding Adams Oshiomhole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign chairman for the 2024 Edo election.
On Bright FM 98.7 Abuja’s live radio program on September 10, 2024, a commentator alleged that Oshiomhole, Edo North’s senator, said “all looters should join the APC and they will be forgiven.”
This claim emerged amidst controversies over Oshiomhole’s remarks about Betsy Obaseki, the incumbent governor’s wife, being childless, which was reportedly in response to Mrs. Obaseki’s statement that the APC gubernatorial candidate, Monday Okpebholo, doesn’t have a wife.
The CDD War Room found this claim misleading. In January 2019, at a presidential campaign rally in Benin, Edo State, Oshiomhole, then APC’s national chairman, made a remark about new party members. Media reports quoted him saying, “Mr President, I am told that there are a lot of senior people from PDP who have decided to join forces with President Buhari to take the broom to sweep away PDP and continue to ensure that APC presides over Nigeria.”
He added, “The defectors today include my own brother and friend, Henry Duke. He is the former organising secretary of PDP. We have Eshehe, a former vice chairman of PDP, and a leader of PDP Edo North. In fact, once you join APC, all your sins are forgiven.”
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Another report cited Oshiomhole stating, “We have some PDP defectors. They are, Henry Tenebe, Iluobe….Iluobe means I have done something wrong. Yes, once you join the APC, your sins are forgiven.”
The CDD War Room concluded that while Oshiomhole did make a general statement about leniency towards new APC members, he did not explicitly mention that those who had looted public funds would be pardoned upon joining the party.
