Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State yesterday raised the alarm over alleged plans by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens in the guise of protests and rallies in the state.
The governor who spoke through the commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare was flanked by Cusoe Osagie, the special adviser to Obaseki on Media Project at a press conference. He also challenged the APC to come forth with its candidate, Monday Okpebholo for a debate with the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
Nehikhare said security agencies, including the Police, Army and the Department of State Security Services (DSS), have been put on notice to deal decisively with anybody or group trying to cause chaos in the state.
But the director of Publicity Edo APC Governorship Campaign Council, Comrade Orobosa Omo-Ojo in a swift reaction said Governor Obaseki and the party’s candidate Asue Ighodalo are hunted by the ghost of their #EndBadGovernance protest in Edo State.
According to Nehikhare, “Our attention has been drawn to plans by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to orchestrate civil unrest and cause mayhem in the state under the guise of protests and rallies in order to advance their obnoxious political agenda.
“The APC is resorting to this devious plan because they have realized the folly of presenting an unlettered and incompetent candidate for the office of a governor.
“Their candidate, Monday Okpebholo, has continued to embarrass the party and his handlers in private and public fora 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.”
Omo-ojo 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 capitalized on the End Bad Governance protest that was sponsored by Obaseki against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to search for their hidden palliatives which the governor stored in the houses of PDP leaders.
“Edo people will recall how the governor organized the anti-federal government protest at Oba Ovoranmwen Square with N200 million, all in his bid to demonize 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 harkened the call by 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 ‘useless man.’ Since our charge to Edo people to take back their rice, in four warehouses and private homes have been busted by hungry men and women to collect what rightly belongs to them.
