Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole lied about his real date of birth, the state’s chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on Monday.
According to Chief Dan Orbih, state chairman of PDP who made the accusation at a press briefing, the governor should have been celebrating his 61st instead of the 60th he celebrated last week, because he was truly born on 4th April 1952.
He recalled that in May, 2012, the governor deposed to an affidavit at a High Court in the state that he was born on April 4, 1952.
“In the history of the world, no one was born two times. But this is happening in Edo State,” said Orbih, who urged Bishop Matthew Kukah to conduct a confession mass for Oshiomhole.
“This, to us is perjury. This to us is unacceptable. This to us is labour rascality. You can never deepen democracy on falsehood or by telling lies to the people. The documents we have in our possession are enough to send Oshiomhole to prison.”
He argued that since erstwhile Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Buhari and late Senate President, Chief Evans Enwerem were punished for a similar offence, the Edo governor’s case should not be any different.
He told the governor to resign honourably and hand over the reins of the state to his deputy.
But reacting to the allegation, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr. Kassim Afegbua noted that the governor has been marking his birthday for several years.
“Actually, when Oshiomhole saw 60 years celebration on printed documents, he was disappointed saying he was 61 not 60 years,” he said.
“The error was from the printers. Governor Oshiomhole is 61 years old. It is difficult to amend the invitation cards and other documents, which were already distributed. He had never claimed 60 years; he corrected the mistakes in some of the daily newspapers like The Sun.”
