APC takeover of our secretariat recipe for anarchy –Edo PDP
The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to rein in on Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to avoid breakdown of law and order in the state. Addressing journalists on Friday in Benin, PDP chairman caretaker committee, Tony Azeigbemi, said the forceful takeover […]
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The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to rein in on Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to avoid breakdown of law and order in the state.
Addressing journalists on Friday in Benin, PDP chairman caretaker committee, Tony Azeigbemi, said the forceful takeover of its secretariat was a recipe for anarchy in the state if the party had responded in same manner.
“We state unequivocally that we are the legitimate tenants of the said property. It is the same devious tactics deployed to sack and intimidate duly elected council chairmen and the vice chairmen out of office.
“APC has continued its brigandage, illegality, and violent assault on democracy, and we are deeply worried that if unabated, may snowball into a breakdown of law and order, leading to anarchy and chaos in the state,” he said.
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He alleged that the APC, using several Hilux vans and other vehicles, led by its chairman, Jarret Tenebe, deployed thugs, backed by police officers from the Government House, to sack PDP from the secretariat on Airport Road, Benin City, the state capital.
He said the secretariat was vandalised while he was forcefully bundled out of his office amidst brutal assault and violence against him.
“This is the worst attack on democracy in any part of Nigeria since the nation’s return to democracy in 1999. Even military regimes before 1999 were not as violent or brutal against dissenting voices as the Okpebholo-led government since they took over office on November 12, 2024,” he added.
He noted that the takeover of the PDP Secretariat by the APC was a clear reflection of the reign of terror that the people of Edo State had witnessed over the past two months.
According to him, the police and other security agencies in the state that are supposed to put them in check appear to be either complacent or complicit.
“We call on the Federal Government, international agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to rein in Governor Okpebholo, as the wind currently blowing in Edo State is an ill-wind, which will blow no one good,” he said.
The APC had on Thursday took over the secretariat. The building, which originally served as the APC secretariat, was taken over by the PDP after Governor Godwin Obaseki defected to the party in 2020 following his disqualification from contesting the governorship election under the APC.