The elected local government area chairmen in Edo State have distanced themselves from some councillors who were received as acting local government chairmen in the guise of defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on behalf of the elected council chairmen yesterday, Mr Benjamin Atu, chairman of the Association of Edo State Forum of Chief Press Secretaries in the 18 local government councils, said no duly elected local government council chairman defected or was present in the gathering.
While calling on the state governor, Monday Okpebholo, to find lasting solutions to the infrastructure, security and economic challenges that are obvious across all local government councils in the state under his lethargic watch, they informed the general public that those who defected were councillors without political relevance to deliver their ward.
According to them, the state’s resources wasted to gather and bribe councillors would have been sufficient to mobilise security agents and grassroots vigilante groups to checkmate the ravaging insecurity across the state, particularly in Edo North.
They advised the governor to respect the rule of law from the Supreme Court judgement to the Edo High Court judgement on the status of local government chairmen in Nigeria.
“They maintained that the governor has the opportunity of redeeming his image by restoring elected council chairmen but has decided to be a victim of his own gospel.
“Elected chairmen wish to distance themselves from the charade and called on the Nigerian National Media to stop misleading the public with misleading Newspaper headlines that don’t add up to the reality.
“If those whom the governor received are the people he depends upon to consolidate his hold on the state’s polity and deliver Tinubu in 2027, then his hope is a mirage and dead on arrival.
“It was to mislead the president into buying into their stage-managed crap that Edo local government council chairmen have defected in support of his 2027 presidential bid.
“Local government councils have been thrown into darkness and underdevelopment without leadership and direction since the governor forced elected chairmen out of office over three months ago.”
