The APC candidate in the just concluded Edo State governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has said that he hasn’t issued any statement since the election won by Governor Godwin Obaseki of the PDP.

Ize-Iyamu also described as false a report that he begged Obaseki to return to the APC from where he decamped to the PDP.

He made this known in a statement issued through his Director of Communication and Media, Prince John Mayaki.

He said: “Many media houses have once again lent themselves to the fabrications of Obaseki and the PDP, as they did throughout the campaigns and the election.

“We warned many times the media should beware of fabrications from Obaseki and the PDP’s camp, but they did not listen.

“That is why they have reported that the election was free and fair, and that is why they have said our candidate pleaded with Obaseki to come back to APC.

‘’The video in reference is from three months ago, not after the election but doctored by Obaseki’s media handlers to seek undue legitimacy.

“We wonder if the media were being sponsored by Obaseki and the PDP, as it seems implausible that they actually believed the story.

“This is even more so, when reporters in Benin City would report Pastor Ize-Iyamu, who is currently in Abuja, where the various media organisations are also domiciled, this is to tell you the suspicion inherent in the viral video.

“Pastor Ize-Iyamu was reported in the stories as speaking from Abuja but it was the Benin reporters that covered the story. Were the reporters transported to Abuja?

“Do these media agencies actually believe the stories they carry? Obaseki and the PDP have a way of leaking false news to the media. The media have to be sensitive and professional in receiving these news.”

Ize-Iyamu also warned the public about a fake Twitter account that has been disseminating information purportedly from him.

He said: “I only wish most of the media had been more professional during the election in Edo State but they were not. What is done is done.

“They (the media) pretended not to know how violent and anti-democratic the election was in many parts of Edo State, including Egor Local Government Area in Benin City.

“So, they (the media) reported that the election was free and fair. Going forward, let them (the media) verify all news before passing it on. It is the basic ethic of the profession.”