Edo Guber: State Govt, APC Trade Allegations Over Rigging Plot

The Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council has called on the security agencies to call the Governor Godwin Obaseki to order over his alleged moves to rig the forthcoming governorship election in the state in favour of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Making the claim in Benin, the media director of Edo APC Campaign Council, Prince Kassim Afegbua, in a statement, alleged Obaseki intends to rig the September 21 gubernatorial election using his “illegal Edo Security Network.”

But, the Edo State Government in its response through the special adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, said Afegbua’s statement on the plot to rig the election should be disregarded as a cocktail of complete falsehood.

Osagie said APC’s rambling is another failed attempt to mislead and distract the public from their own devious plan to rig the forthcoming gubernatorial election, upon realising they have lost favour with the people and cannot win in a free and fair contest.

However, Afegbua, in his claim, said, “We have been inundated with calls from well meaning Edo electorates of his game plan to use threat, intimidation and harassment to disenfranchise Edo electorates from exercising their right at the elections. We had decried before, the State Government’s activities apropos of arms procurement.  Edo State government has been recruiting even more hands into their illegal Edo Security Network, with the sole motive of empowering them for the underhand assignment of rigging the election by intimidation.”

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Afegbua alleged that the Edo State Government “has now started producing police and military uniforms which the members of the Edo Security Network will be made to wear on the said day of the election, to disguise as real police officers and military personnel; to assist them in carrying out their pernicious assignment.

“Some citizens with moral rectitude, who were invited for briefing at the Government House on Monday raised concerns about this plot and turned down the job offer. The State Government is still arranging to procure more guns and other ammunition for them for the D-Day of the election.”

“Before now, the Edo Security Network had started mounting illegal road-blocks and checkpoints across the state, posturing as Police and Military personnel: the APC campaigns in Akoko-Edo were attacked a couple of days back, and our supporters, acolytes and functionaries were also attacked at Ewohinmi area last week after our successful campaign outing.”

He appealed to the military and police authorities “to please come and rescue Edo State, immediately. We urge these authorities to commission their men to carry out investigations concerning these serious allegations in order to act appropriately, and forestall the breakdown of law and order in Edo State.”

Responding, the Edo State Government said that Prince Afegbua’s statement “about plans to rig the September 21 governorship election, should be disregarded as a cocktail of complete falsehood.”

According to Obaseki’s special adviser on media project, Osagie, said “the rambling is just another failed attempt to mislead the public and distract from their own devious plan to rig the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State having realized that they have lost favour with the people and cannot win in a free and fair contest.”

He alleged that what the APC is already doing is what they’re claiming that other persons are doing as the party “has been boasting of federal might since the start of the campaigns, harassing and intimidating innocent citizens of the State and members of the opposition?”

Going further, he stressed: “They are jittery over their impending loss after presenting an unlettered and incompetent candidate for the office of a governor and have now resorted to machiavellian tactics to subvert the will of Edo people and have perfected these plans and now want to shift attention to other people so as to freely implement their evil plan.

“We call on the authorities to place their eyes on Afegbua and the APC because what they are accusing others of is exactly what they are planning to do themselves. This tactic of accusing others of their own devious plot is a strategy that the APC is well known for, and the people of Edo State are too wise to be fooled by vain subterfuge.”