APC Replies PDP, Says Party Lacks Sense Of Current Realities

The Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has carpeted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over its criticisms of the Sen Monday Okpebholo-led administration, saying the party lacked an understanding of today’s governance realities.

Addressing a press conference at the APC secretariat, the acting state chairman, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, said landmark projects Okpebholo has embarked upon like the Ramat Park Fly Over which the PDP had criticised was captured in the reviewed budget of 2024 and that the allegation of alleged attack on its secretariat was a case the now opposition party cannot substantiate.

Tenebe said  “The ignoble and violent traits of PDP which they exhibited before, during and after the election are the signposts of imperialistic disposition which the Edo people shall never pray to experience again.”

He condemned the public call to violence by some PDP chieftains during the campaigns in the event that the party loses the election, a situation he said queried their moral right to challenge the election they desperately want to win.

Tenebe said this call for violence even before the election resulted in “The killing of the police inspector attached to the now governor,” adding that the “PDP, still celebrating its failure, has now embarked on a self-destructive voyage to criticize the government of Distinguished Senator Monday Okpebholo that has surpassed the non-achievement of Governor Obaseki in Eight years, having just been in office for a few days.”

He claimed that the Edo State PDP chairman, Dr Tony. Azeigbemi, recent press conference demonstrated he has no knowledge of the implementation of the revised Appropriation law 2024 of Edo State where, according to him, “the flyover bridge can be captured in the open ended parenthesis of the budget which accommodates for project of implicit and urgent importance.

“Edo people are now happy that a governor who understands their plights and is ready to tackle them head on has come and they now know that what the PDP Government termed “impossible projects” like the flyovers are realizable by a government that is determined to work and not believe in MOUs which only existed on papers.”

On the alleged attack on the secretariat of the PDP, Tenebe said “It is most disgusting for the PDP to ascribe the criminal destruction that happened in their moribund secretariat to the APC.

“While the APC Government of His Excellency, Monday Okpebholo condemned any act of criminal tendencies like the alleged destruction of the PDP secretariat, it must be stated without equivocation that the said alleged act has no bearing with the APC.”

He said the allegation by the PDP that suspected APC members attacked the secretariat was a criminal allegation that must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

“Therefore, we require the PDP to substantiate their allegations with undisputed facts so that the allegations should not remain in the realm of suspicion which has no place in our criminal statutes.

“The PDP must know that His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Monday Okpebolo has put his hand on the plow and is ready to put Edo State in the map of progressives.”

The APC also frowned at the allegation by  Azeigbemi that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) was compromised for the September 21st governorship election.

The APC chairman also carpeted a PDP chieftain, Osita Chidoka’s claim that BIVAS and the electoral body were compromised during the election.

“We state unequivocally that there are two sets of BVAS machines in the INEC office. The one legitimately used by INEC for the Election and the manipulated machines that were smuggled into the office of INEC by the PDP.

“We therefore now more than ever before, call on the security agencies to investigate where the PDP got the manipulated BVAS machines from with which they are circulating fake results since same have been acknowledged in the public space,” he said.