ATTACKING THE MAN WHO BUILT THE STRUCTURE: HOW FALSEHOODS, REVISIONISM, AND POLITICAL AMNESIA CANNOT ERASE PASTOR OSAGIE IZE-IYAMU’S ROLE IN EDO APC AND HIS GROWING 2027 RELEVANCE

 

Re: "Gullible and Faceless Supporters Defending Failure" – A Response to Agbukor Lucky Apeakhuye

By Felix Isibor, Oluku, Edo State

Agbukor Lucky Apeakhuye,

I read your piece. What you call analysis is selective anger wrapped in half-truths. If the goal was to bury Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s political relevance, the facts don’t cooperate. Let’s correct the record.

1. *Two Elections Do Not Erase 20 Years of Structure*

You reduce POI’s political career to 2016 and 2020 as if those were fought on a level field.

- *2016*: POI contested against Godwin Obaseki, who had the backing of Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Federal might, the state treasury, and incumbency were all aligned against him. On the eve of the election, it was postponed after opinion polls showed massive support for POI. When the election was finally held, POI won convincingly. Thugs hired by his opponents went on a rampage, destroying ballot papers in several polling units. Some of those involved have since admitted that POI won, but they were commissioned to destroy the results. Even Jarrett Tenebe protested against the fake results that were announced.

- *2020*: He faced an incumbent governor with the sympathy of the federal government and most APC governors. The Edo APC was also divided due to the fight between the governor and Adams Oshiomhole. Despite this, POI held the party structure together across the state.

Politics isn’t only about winning once. It’s about building a structure that survives defeat and comes back. POI has done that.

2. *Supporting Osinbajo in 2023 Was a Lie Peddled to Smear POI*

Your claim that POI worked against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 2023 is false and easy to debunk.

First, POI never supported Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for president. That story was manufactured by Jarrett Tenebe and his sponsors to discredit POI before President Asiwaju. If POI was backing Osinbajo, explain why he was absent when Osinbajo came to Edo for his campaign? You won’t find him there.

Second, when Asiwaju himself came to Benin to seek support for the presidential nomination, POI was on ground, mobilizing and openly singing in support of Asiwaju. The videos and eyewitness accounts are still there. You don’t do that for a candidate you’re “working against.” 

Those who know Jarrett know this is his pattern: make reckless claims, repeat them loudly, and hope they stick. The same man who once accused HE Philip Shaibu of stealing his wristwatch is now accusing POI of betrayal. It’s a blatant lie, and Edo people see through it.

3. *Jarrett Tenebe’s Political History Undercuts Your Attack*

You talk about failure, but let’s talk about your principal.

Jarrett Tenebe has never won his own polling unit in Uzairue. The records are there. When POI contested under PDP in 2016, Tenebe’s boast collapsed with the result in his own backyard. 

And for all the loyalty you claim he showed POI, it was POI who nominated him as Edo State Deputy Chairman of APC in 2023. From that position, he became Chairman. That’s on record. 

So let’s call this what it is: ingratitude. The man POI raised is now being used to throw stones at the house that built him. Edo politics has seen this script before.

4. *“Step Aside” Is Not an Argument. It’s a Personal Wish*

You quote scripture to tell POI to abandon politics for ministry. That’s not strategy. That’s your personal preference.

Nigeria’s constitution doesn’t ban pastors from politics. Leadership isn’t limited to one lane. The voters of Edo State, not a media aide in Etsako East, will decide if POI’s political journey continues.

5. *The Real Fear Is POI’s Reach Across All 3 Senatorial Districts*

Let’s be blunt. This attack isn’t about 2016 or 2020. It’s about 2027.

POI’s influence cuts across Edo North, Edo Central, and Edo South. He mobilizes across party lines, ethnic lines, and religious lines. That’s the real nightmare for your principal. You don’t spend 1,200 words attacking a man with no structure. You attack him because the structure is alive, and it’s growing.

If POI was irrelevant, you’d ignore him. The fact that you didn’t proves the point.

*Conclusion*

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is not defined by two election results or by the false narratives of political opportunists. He is defined by building APC in Edo when it had no root, keeping a structure intact without state power for many years, and remaining the one politician both friends and opponents must calculate with.

Political reality isn’t changed by Facebook essays and lies. It’s changed by votes, structures, and consistency. 

Edo 2027 will be decided in the wards, not in press releases. And when that day comes, POI’s record will speak for itself.

*Felix Isibor*  

Oluku, Edo State