Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has spoken out against godfatherism following his victory at the state’s gubernatorial polls.
He said he did not want to become a Godfather, and asked to be dealt with if he ever became one.
While speaking with state house correspondents after his visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Obaseki said he had fought against the ”unconstitutional” institution of godfatherism in the state since 2006/07.
The governor said, “In the case of godfathers in our politics, I have said in several fora that the whole concept of godfatherism is very dangerous to our democracy.
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“That was why when we came into the political fray 2006/2007, the mantra then was to get rid of godfathers from our political life.
“The reason is simple, the godfather has no constitutional responsibility, the godfather acts outside the constitution and controls people who are constitutional players. So, if we allow that sort of situation to continue, it will be worse than military rule.
“When people who have nothing at stake, no checks and balances just arbitrarily decide that this is the way the constitution should be interpreted or constitutional players should operate, that’s why problems come in.
“God forbid I become a godfather, I should be dealt with accordingly because it’s dangerous to the concept of democracy.”
