By Orobosa Omo-Ojo, JP
THE recent attack on Chief Tom Ikimi, a former Foreign Affairs Minister by Charles Idahosa, the Special Adviser to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole can best be described as irresponsible and completely off-track.
Idahosa’s outburst portrayed him as lacking in knowledge or fraudulently covering up truth to please his paymaster at the detriment of Edo people who are the ultimate beneficiaries of Chief Ikimi’s revelations on the Benin Central Hospital contract.
What is appropriate at this time is for Charles Idahosa to allow all those that Chief Ikimi mentioned in his outburst to defend themselves on the role they played in the ‘Emergency Wing’ of the Benin Central Hospital contract instead of deploying his fast fading “garage boy” tactics.
Idahosa’s assertion that “Ikimi is frustrated because he believes the Comrade Governor did not support him to become National Chairman of APC”, again portrayed him as a man lacking honour and truth because he is aware that Oshiomhole did not support Chief John Odigie Oyegun or Chief Ikimi for the position. Instead, the governor played a meddlesome role in his quest to stifle the emergence of higher politicians in the state. Some delegates on their return from Abuja, revealed that they were instructed by the APC State Chairman, Anslem Ojezua not to contact Chief Oyegun.
Although many have argued about Idahosa’s scholarly pedigree, I gave him the benefit of doubt until now when he has demonstrated that he does not know the elementary difference between an Architect and a Civil Engineer. In his ill-fated interview, Idahosa stated “it shows that we will investigate his claim of being an architect because part of the building he designed collapsed and that was why the state government decided to give the job to a more competent contractor.” It is unbelievable that a man that prides himself on being a broadcaster will dabble into an area where he has no expertise just to please his paymaster.
His poor technical training led journalists in the state to demand his removal as Director of Press and Protocol in 2002 during the administration of Chief Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion. In his good nature, Igbinedion went ahead to rehabilitate him when he awarded the contract for the construction of Ehor Fruit Juice Coy to Tempo and Associates, but in his usual disorderly manner, the contract was executed poorly by him. Idahosa whose trademark is ‘AGIP’ (Any Government in Power) got a contract to complete Block ‘D’ of the state secretariat building and expectedly, this contract became a pig-headed issue during the asset verification exercise at the inception of the present administration.
No doubt, the investigation of misappropriated or looted funds at the ‘Emergency Ward’ of Benin Central Hospital which Idahosa has called for will be extended to these two failed contracts that were awarded to Tempo and Associates by the previous PDP administration in Edo State.
I also find Idahosa’s name calling, wherein he called Ikimi a “frustrated politician… jumping from one party to the other just because he did not become the national chairman of APC” as uncharitable. It is pertinent to refresh Idahosa’s memory on how he decamped to DPP to become the party’s governorship candidate after Comrade Oshiomhole beat him silly in the AC primaries in 2007 – only to turn himself to Oshiomhole’s agent in Ehor, headquarters of Uhunmwonde Local Government Area on April 14, 2007. As if that was not enough, Charles Idahosa later begged Oshiomhole to be appointed Special Adviser in 2008, the same man he grudgingly called a ‘monkey’ in his morbid ambition to become the governorship candidate of AC.
Again, it is a misadventure for Idahosa to accuse Ikimi of “politics of greed and self interest”, whereas, it is a known embarrassing fact amongst younger politicians in Edo South that the only time Idahosa is engaged in protestation against Oshiomhole is when his is running low on putrid funds. A typical example is the recent APC primaries where he ran 360 degree around Dr. Pius Odubu before shifting his support to Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi and finally arrived at the campaign office of Godwin Obaseki as a director.
We all thought Idahosa was on his annual ritual of visiting London for his ‘deserved rest’ after a very profitable season of ‘naira-rain’ APC primaries – judging from his silence on Anslem Ojezua’s verbal attack on Chief John Odigie-Oyegun (our amiable APC National Chairman). More irritating is the fact that Idahosa has never won his voting unit in Ehor, just as he celebrated his ability to cancel the election result in his ward at the last National Assembly elections. Charles Idahosa will serve Edo people better if he returns to his mute mode than his sudden outburst that he obviously designed to distract the vigilant eyes that are keeping watch on his deceptive self-serving politicking!