Edo State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paul Ohonbamu, yesterday, called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to refrain from heating the polity and inciting violence in the state ahead of the election petition tribunal judgement.
The Commissioner made the call in a statement in Benin City saying: “It has become necessary for every patriotic Edo son and daughter to desist from heating the polity before the delivery of the judgment of the three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi.
“In a democratic system, the opposition plays a crucial role in providing a check on the ruling party and ensuring that the government is accountable to the people. However, this role must be fulfilled responsibly and constructively.
“The Governor Monday Okpebholo is a peaceful and purposeful driven administrator who desires the best for Edo State, and his administration will not condone any act that is likely to cause instability and insecurity of life and property in the state.”
Ohonbamu noted that heating the polity through inflammatory rhetoric or actions over the outcome of the tribunal’s judgment can have severe consequences that can divide the state along party lines leading to social unrest and conflict.
“The inflammatory statements by the PDP leadership and their supporters can create an environment of uncertainty and fear, which can undermine economic growth and development, as well as undermine the credibility of institutions, such as the Judiciary,” he said. He added that the state government has advised everyone to remain calm and patient for the judgment without fanning embers of crisis from any quarter.
MEANWHILE, the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee and the Okpebholo-led state government have engaged in heated bickering over claims that Edo has become the “capital of kidnapping and violent crimes” in Nigeria.
In a statement in Benin, PDP Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, alleged that the state has turned into a haven for criminals despite receiving N750 million monthly in security allocations.
Nehikhare said: “Edo State is now a haven for kidnappers and other criminal gangs, who operate with impunity, taking advantage of the deteriorating security situation, as residents and business owners continue to live in constant fear.”
Nehikhare noted that the insecurity in the state is worrisome, adding that the recent 12-day abduction of Afenifere Youth Council National President, Prince Eniola Olajuni, in Ibilo, Akoko-Edo Council, is proof that criminals are emboldened.
According to the opposition PDP, at least 22 people have been killed in recent weeks, including Batemue Philip Ebo, Christopher Bello, and Victor Ogedengbe, while properties worth millions have been destroyed.
Reacting to the allegations by the PDP, the Chief Press Secretary to Okpebholo, Fred Itua, stressed that it was rather under the PDP leadership that cult violence left over 100 people dead, while the state’s PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, was kidnapped in the heart of Benin.
