The Edo State Government accused the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday of planning to orchestrate civil unrest and cause mayhem in the state under the guise of protests and rallies.
The state government maintained that the planned rallies by the APC were designed by the party to advance its obnoxious political agenda.
The state commissioner for communication and orientation, Chris Nehikhare, who made the allegation while addressing journalists in Benin City, said the APC resorted to the devious plan because it had realised the folly of presenting an unlettered and incompetent candidate for the office of governor.
But in a swift reaction, the APC noted that the state government, under the leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki, was hallucinating over the #EndBadGovernance protest, which it orchestrated again under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, adding that the Edo people were waiting for the September 21, 2024, governorship election to punish the state government.
According to Nehikhare, “Their candidate, Monday Okpebholo, has continued to embarrass the party and his handlers in private and public forums with his poor grasp of basic concepts and intellectual immaturity, consistently displaying an inability to articulate and coherently sell his vision to the electorate and other key stakeholders.
“Reeling from the pains of selling a bad and unmarketable candidate and having failed in their desperate resort to lies and propaganda to hoodwink Edo people ahead of the September 21 governorship election, the only path the APC in Edo State now sees to promote their campaigns is to cause chaos and crisis in the state.
“Our findings reveal that the APC plans to incite civil unrest in the state and cause chaos under the guise of riots and protests in order to disrupt the peace and stability of the state while diverting attention from their candidate’s weaknesses and buying time to avoid debates and meaningful engagement with the people.
“The Edo State Government is aware of their evil plans and will not sit idly and watch them unleash mayhem on the people and cause chaos in the state.
“While we call the attention of all security agencies in the state, including the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Brigade Commander, 4 Brigade, Benin, among others, to take notice of this planned heinous plan by the APC to orchestrate civil unrest and cause mayhem in the state, we assure members of the public to be rest assured that the government will spare no effort within the ambits of the law to forestall this planned attack on the state and its people and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice,” Nehikhare added.
He urged the APC to bring their candidate out for debates and engagements with the electorate and other stakeholders as is obtainable in all other civilised climes instead of causing strife, adding that the party must know that elections are not war and issues, visions, and manifestos are debated in a civil and respectable manner, not hiding behind strife and chaos to force their way to power.
“We urge the APC to refrain from their divisive tactics and resort to violence. They should instead bring their candidate out to speak to the people, even if it is in pidgin or his local Esan dialect, and also debate with other candidates. Edo people deserve to hear directly from him to enable them to make informed decisions ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the state,” he said.
Commenting on the controversial Federal Government rice consignment to Edo State, the Commissioner said, “The government brought a few trucks of rice, which were distributed to orphanages and other vulnerable people in the state,” adding, “The “government has passed the stage of discussing rice but is now discussing policies that impact the people.”.
He explained that in the last two and a half months, the state government had spent N2.2 billion through religious bodies in the state to buy rice and other food items to distribute to the people of the state.
“I can say categorically that the looted rice does not belong to the Federal Government. Christians Association of Nigeria, CAN, bought the rice and bagged it with the Edo State Government name,” Nehikhare stated.
But in reaction to the government allegation, the APC said the continued rehash of phantom puny stories by Governor Godwin Obaseki and his godson, Asue Ighodalo, is a reflection of their fear of reprisals from Edo State people who recently capitalised on the End Bad Governance that was sponsored by Obaseki against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to search for their hind palliatives, which the governor stored in the houses of PDP leaders.
The party, in a statement signed by Comrade Orobosa Omo-Ojo, JP, Director of Publicity, APC Campaign Council, said, “Edo people will recall how the governor organised the anti-federal government protest at Oba Ovoranmwen Square with N200 million, all in his bid to demonise Tinubu and APC and punish Edo people who he has deprived of their palliatives.
“But contrary to Obaseki’s expectation, while he was addressing his PDP members and political aides he gathered as protesters, the real protesters heeded the call by the APC to locate their rice and other palliatives hidden in Edo State Government warehouses and houses of PDP members.
“The real protesters that were present in Ovoranmwen Square hurled water sachets at Obaseki, while some called him a “useless man.” Since our charge to the Edo people to take back their rice, over four warehouses and private homes have been burst by hungry men and women to collect what rightly belongs to them.
“The fear of losing the entire hidden grain had led to Obaseki’s sudden hatred for the organisers of the protest, whom he now calls hoodlums and thugs. The same group of persons he praised for causing hardship on the streets of Edo State”.
The statement alleged that Obaseki and Ighodalo’s incessant noise is a cover-up for the grand economic corruption the two friends have committed against the Edo people.
“It is also a panic measure by them to curry support in the face of the impending disqualification of the PDP and its candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission over the forging of voter’s cards.
“Finally, the APC in Edo is using this medium to notify our people that Obaseki only yesterday applied and got the approval of the Edo State House of Assembly to borrow N8.550 billion for the purchase of his imaginary CNG buses. We reject the fresh loan on the heels of the N11.1 billion Obaseki received from the Federal Account in the month of June.
“Asue is a worse version of Obaseki; therefore, Edo people must do everything to reject the PDP at the polls on September 21, 2024,” the APC said.
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