- By Halimah Olamide
Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has told the General AbdulSalami Abubakar led Peace committee that the Peoples Democratic Party may not sign the peace agreement over the forthcoming election in the state.
Obaseki stated this while hosting the team which visited his office on Wednesday in Benin, the state capital.
According to Obaseki, there have been series of intimidations and harasments of PDP members in the state as part of alleged plan to force victory for the All Progressive Congress.
The governor told the team that as at Wednesday, no fewer than 10 members of his party had been arrested and whisked to Abuja and are being detained without any trial.
He said his position as the Chief Security Officer of the state has been messed up with armed men storming his state without his knowledge to arrest his members.
“You are very conversant with the politics of Edo State. You were here in 2020, and we had a very heated election. You know this is an off-cycle election, and there is a lot of attention,” he said.
“Unlike 2020, I am very worried about the developments in the state today. The party met yesterday, and we may not sign this agreement.
“This is the first time we are witnessing that the entity supposed to maintain and enforce the peace accord is now actively creating a destructive environment.
“The opposition party in the state, the APC, has always argued that they may not be as popular and didn’t win in the last election, but they have promised to use federal power to determine the outcome of this election.
“We thought it was just rhetoric, but in the last four weeks, we’ve had a situation where from the office of the IGP, armed police gangs have entered Edo state to invade, arrest, and take away PDP members.
“As we speak, 10 PDP members are arrested and detained in Abuja without trial. Two days ago, they arrested a local government chairman.
“The chairman was heading home when he was attacked and shot at. We reported the incident, and the police asked him to provide evidence. He complied, but instead of investigating, they arrested him. As I speak, he is in Abuja.”
The former Head of state who led the team assured Obaseki that his allegations would be looked into while pleading that peace should be allowed to reign before, during and after the election.
The state goes to the poll on September 21, 2024.