Okowa Kicks As APC Names Him In Edo Rigging Plot

By GWG Staff

The All Progressives Congress, APC in Edo State on Friday dragged Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State into the fray in the governorship campaigns accusing him of providing thugs to help Governor Godwin Obaseki muscle himself out of what it claimed was an expected defeat.

The accusation was swiftly dismissed by Okowa and also by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Edo State.

Addressing a press conference in Benin, the acting chairman of the Edo State chapter of the APC, Col David Imuse (rtd) accused Governor Obaseki of going in desperation to recruit thugs from neighbouring Delta State through the facilitation of Dr. Okowa.

He said, “In the past days, we have seen and experienced a dangerous build-up of firearms and violence in Edo State by governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki who no longer needs a diviner to tell him that he has been rejected by the people.

“Acting under the marching orders of the tax-collecting leadership of their umbrella party, they are executing a do-or-die approach where they must either forcefully impose themselves on the people of Edo State for another term or burn the whole state to the ground, making a sorry scene and an ungovernable entity.

“This manifested on Wednesday, August 19, in Igueben local government area when Okowa, suspiciously attended a single ward political event allegedly with an army of thugs with the objective of contributing to their militarization of the state and to spread panic and intimidate voters.”

The assertions were immediately dismissed by Okowa who speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, said: “I don’t know when Delta became more violent than Edo.

“When PDP governors paid a courtesy visit to the Oba of Benin and violence broke out after they left, was it Okowa that was responsible? We should be thankful that our governor was not harmed. The governor has visited Edo State many times and there was no violence. Okowa as a person has not been known for violence and since he has been contesting elections, he has not been associated with violence.

“Everybody knows Okowa as peaceful person. The violence is in Edo and will remain in Edo. Before now, in the build up to the election, Edo has been in the news for violence. So, what happened in Igueben is part of that violence. They should leave Okowa alone”, he said.

The Publicity Secretary of the PDP, in Edo State, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, was also dismissive of the allegations saying that in the absence of campaign policies that “they now sit down and concoct stories.

“The allegations are baseless and lack foundation. We are the ones that should be complaining because of their inclination to fraud and violence.

   “All we keep saying‎ is that they are trying to create situation of anarchy and chaos to force a postponement of the election”, he said.

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