The cold war between the first executive governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and the former Chief Whip of the Senate, Roland Owie, over the leadership of the Edo South Senatorial District chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), blew open on Monday as Owie and other ADC leaders from the district were shut out of a meeting conveyed by Odigie-Oyegun in his residence.
Apart from Owie, who was recently pronounced the leader of the ADC in Edo South, others who were denied access to the meeting included Sunny Aguebor, one of the financiers and founding member of the party, and Douglas Iyike, a national leader of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
The former Edo State governor, it was gathered, had called for the meeting in his residence without extending the invitation to Owie and the other leaders who, upon learning about the meeting, decided to attend.
The situation took a dramatic turn when Owie and the other leaders arrived at the Benin GRA residence of Odigie-Oyegun, only to be shown the list of those invited.
Irked by the development, Owie and the other affected leaders decided to occupy Odigie-Oyegun’s gate. It took the persuasion of the unit of policemen deployed from the Edo State Police Command before the aggrieved ADC leaders vacated the gate.
Senator Owie, while speaking on the development, called on the national body of the party to call Odigie-Oyegun to order.
Owie decried a situation whereby founding members of the party would be shut out of a meeting where non-members were accommodated.
“We that are here are founding members of the ADC, We are supposed to have a meeting today. Chief John Oyegun who has not done anything to support the party in this state is calling non-members to a meeting and excluding those who are statutory members.
“As a matter of fact, the senatorial meeting was to be called up to four or five times. He stopped it; he will postpone it. As we are talking, we have been everywhere in this state, especially here in Edo South, where we are right now raising members for the party. Ask him how many people he has attracted to this party.
“We are telling the National leadership of the party that enough is enough of John Oyegun. This was how he was as the National Chairman of the APC and he was removed with ease; enough is enough, he cannot disrespect those who are building the party,” Owie fumed.
When contacted for his reaction, Odigie-Oyegun, who said that he was still in the leadership meeting of the party, promised to speak on the development after the meeting.