The senatorial aspiration of former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, is in the news for the wrong reason over his appointment of an ex-convict, Abdulganiyu Lawani, aka Abu Millionaire as his Campaign Director-General.
Oshiomhole is gunning for the Senatorial seat of Edo North in the Red Chamber under the All Progressives Congress, APC, a party he once chaired in national capacity.
The ex-governor’s Campaign DG, Abu Millionaire, according to reliable source, is an ex-convict, who once served time in Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos for armed robbery.
At around the time he got into trouble, it was said that he was in the military and got dismissed for the same offence he stood accused of and jailed for.
“Abu Millionaire as he is fondly known is a native of Warrake in Owan East Local Government. He had served in the Artillery Unit of the Nigerian Army but got involved in an armed robbery operation while in army uniform. He was arrested, charged and tried in a competent court of jurisdiction and subsequently sentenced to a prison term of five years.
“This was in the mid 1990s. He served his five-year jail term at the Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre. He was thereafter, dismissed from the Nigerian Army,” source narrated.
Source added that since he got his freedom, Abu Millionaire has been finding his level in politics and social circle where he is a big spender at parties. His past and commanding position in the circle of louts in Edo have also served for something among some top politicians in the state, who do have him in their pay.
This holds true of his once-upon-a-time friendship with Senator Francis Alimikhena, the Senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly, which was of mutual benefits.
At the height of it, Alimikhena gifted him a Toyota Hilux vehicle and tons of money while he played his part allegedly sending shivers down the spine of the former’s opponents before their relationship went south.
They parted company on account of the political intrigues that characterized the emergence of Oshiomhole as Edo North senatorial candidate of the APC, at the expense of the Senator, who vied for ticket with the party’s ex-national chairman.
Following his loss to Oshiomhole, the senator dumped APC for PDP with report currently making the rounds that he held a grudge against Abu Millionaire alleging the strongman of non-commitment to his candidacy during the APC primary, double dealing and backstabbing.
“But the ex-governor’s choice is being received with excitement in PDP circle, while it is causing ripples among members of APC in the state as many feel he is not worthy of the office based on alleged intellectual disability. Equally his appointment is viewed in some quarters as a disservice to his principal’s ambition,” source further said of Abu Millionaire’s appointment by Oshiomhole.
