By Jethro Ibileke
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Edo State, has taken full responsibility for not being able to keep its lawmakers in the State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, in its fold.
The Caretaker committee Chairman of the party, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, stated this on Thursday in Benin, while reacting to the mass defection of the lawmakers elected on the platform of the party, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It should be remembered that on Wednesday, Agbebaku led four other PDP lawmakers in the State Assembly to dump PDP for the ruling APC.
Aziegbemi, however, disclosed that the leadership of the party in the State held over 20 meetings with the Speaker and the other lawmakers to dissuade them from defecting.
He said, “As a party, we will always give every member a chance. We will always try as much as possible to engage members, no matter what they do.
“I can tell you for free that the leadership of this party, the candidate, the deputy governorship candidate, myself and a few other leaders, we held more than 20 meetings with members of the House of Assembly before now.
“So, we have engagement and we were trying to make sure that we drive home the point that guys stay where you are. It is for your own sake and the sake of your children.
“But, apparently, maybe our efforts were not good enough to keep him and others in where they were. For that, we take full responsibility for not being able to keep them.
“But I think we did all that we needed to do in terms of engaging, in terms of telling him and others to, like, look guys, this is where we are, you should remain here, and this is the best place for you,” he said.
Speaking on the gale of defections by politicians across political divides in the country, Aziegbemi noted that lack of shame and integrity are the major problems in Nigeria and not corruption.
He said:” We are all pointing fingers, that corruption is our main problem in this country. Take it from me, the problem of this country is the lack of shame and lack of integrity among those that God has bestowed upon leadership in this country at many of levels.
“In this issue, the decamping you are seeing across the board is a testament to the fact that leadership as we know it encompasses kindness, honesty and decency.
“All these have been missing in Nigeria and that is why we are where we are, because it is the lacked of shame that will make you do some of the things these many people are doing.”