Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has raised the alarm that the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, is stockpiling arms and importing thugs into the state with an intent to cause mayhem and disrupt the September 19 governorship poll in the state.
The deputy governor, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in the former national chairman and his followers and stop them from setting Edo State on the path of chaos and anarchy.
According to Shaibu, “Oshiomhole and his allies, having discovered that they cannot win the election in a free and fair contest, have resorted to violence and thuggery to set the state ablaze and foist an unpopular candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, on the people,” noting that Edo people are determined, more than ever, to resist the ploy of the former APC national chairman.
Shaibu said: “Remember Oshiomhole is my father and before now, I was living in his house each time I visited the village. I have informants in his house who give me updates on a daily basis about happenings in his house.
“He waved his immunity to call Ize-Iyamu a thief in 2016. I am not waving mine but I can boldly tell you without mincing words that Oshiomhole is arming youths in Edo. Oshiomhole is stockpiling arms ahead of the governorship election.
“We have reported to the law enforcement agencies and we hope that they take drastic measures to protect the lives and property of Edo people. The last time we told the security agencies about the hired assassins that were brought into Edo State by Oshiomhole, they thought we were joking, so we gave them details of these suspected persons which they confirmed. What happened during the campaign is a confirmation of what I just told you.
“One of them told me that they were going to do that and I alerted the security agencies that I got information that there were plans to disrupt our campaigns and the places they would come from. It also happened during the convocation ceremony at Edo University, Iyamho; we were attacked in front of Oshiomhole’s house. We were able to get all the names of those behind the attack from the video and a petition was written to the Police, but as I speak to you, nothing has been done, instead our own supporters were the ones that were arrested.”
Highlighting how the administration drastically reduced the state’s unemployment rate as validated by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, announcing Edo as the lowest in the South South region, Shaibu explained: “We created the EdoJobs agency for monitoring, employment creation and job matching and to help the government ascertain the number of jobs created and lost as well as areas where we needed to expand in order to be steady in our drive to create more jobs and an economy that works.
“What we basically did was to look at the economy and created a one-stop-shop that would deal with unemployment issue, and at the end of the day, grow our economy steadily and increase our GDP. That to us is what governance should represent. Government should provide for the people by creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive rather than being involved directly in business. Government should supervise and support businesses to thrive.”
Meanwhile, the hope of APC to make an impact in the election has suffered a major setback, following the recent defection of over 5, 000 of its members to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who reaffirmed their unflinching support for the reelection bid of Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Leading the 5,000 APC members to declare their support for the PDP in Ward 6, Ubiaja, in Esan South-East Local Government Area (LGA), Hon. John Bobby Palmer, said the decision was to secure the reelection of Obaseki and ensure the consolidation of his administration’s achievements.
Speaking at the governor’s reelection rally in Ubiaja, the APC leader commended Obaseki for prioritising the welfare and wellbeing of Edo people against the interest of a few selfish politicians.
Palmer said: “Obaseki has done well in his first term and because we love good things, we have no choice but to join the party which stands for development.”
Chairman, Edo PDP Campaign Council, Chief Dan Orbih, noted that: “Obaseki, in the last three years and eight months, has performed better and surpassed the achievements of Adams Oshiomhole in eight years. If Obaseki is returned to power, Esan people will occupy their place in Edo politics.
“Under the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EDOBEST) programme, over 40,000 pupils now have access to the home-schooling platform for zero data e-learning for free, amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
On his part, Obaseki said his administration will continue to pursue reforms and programmes to better the lives of Edo people, adding: “We don’t discriminate against anyone as Edo people are all equal.
“Discrimination is not a good political strategy. For me, all citizens are equal before the eyes of this administration.
“The contract to re-construct Ubiaja-Ugboha Road has been awarded and work will commence this dry season. I have instructed that the design of Ubiaja-Udo Road be ready as work will commence soon.”
“These last four years, we have succeeded in having two plants in Edo and generating about 1,000 megawatts of electricity but the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has continued to frustrate all our efforts to ensure we enjoy electricity in the state,” he added.
