Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State said yesterday that grievances expressed by some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state will soon be resolved.
His comment came on the backdrop of speculations that top APC members in the state were in talks with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with a view to finalizing their defection.
But the governor, who was at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Tuesday to confer with President Goodluck Jonathan, told State House correspondents that the aggrieved members were still in APC.
According to him, the fact that there were issues among members showed that the party is democratic, open and promoting inclusive participation.
He said: “As far as I know, there are a couple of issues and that show that we are very democratic. We are open. We believe in inclusive participation.
“No party in history has done what we are doing; getting people to register in all polling units and conducting elections at ward levels.
“That people complain if elections were properly or not properly conducted show that elections were held.
“For me, it shows that we are building a new democracy, you know when we founded our party, our commitment was to let the people lead, not the godfathers.
“So, you are bound to have in any genuine democracy, sometimes discordant voices. That is the first evidence that people feel sufficiently free to say what they want to say and for me that is fine.
“Those persons you are referring to, no, they have not moved to another party, they have only said they have issues with APC and in a democracy there are bound to be issues from time to time. What is important is to resolve those issues and I believe we will resolve them using democratic methods.
“Democracy is not about grip, we have freedom of association. The beauty of democracy is that people can move front or back, right or left. Some people have joined us from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the past months, a member of the house left PDP to join us, don’t forget that some people also left”.
When asked to comment on the recent video by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in which he gave conditions for the release of over 200 school girls abducted by the sect, Oshiomhole decline, saying he did not have all the facts at his disposal.
His words: “I have no reaction because at my level, you don’t jump to conclusion on the basis of newspaper reports. After all, just yesterday, there were pictures showing some American marines arresting someone and we were told the marines were in Nigeria only to be told later that they were not here.
“I cannot comment on a story I am not in a position to verify. I don’t have access to classified security details to enable me make an informed position and it will bother on recklessness if I were to take what you may call an official position”.
On the nation’s security situation, he said: “My attitude is that Nigerians have to wake up to the reality that terrorists are here. All of us must work together. It’s not a blame game. The reality is here. A terrorist doesn’t know your age, your region or your religion.
“The truth is that everybody has become a victim. So on this issue we must speak as a nation, united to denounce terrorism and work together with the Federal Government”.
