BEING PRESS BRIEFING ON THE PLANNED TO INTIMIDATE, HARASS, ARREST, AND DISTRUPT THE PEACEFUL CONDUCT OF 2023 GENERAL ELECTION IN AKOKO-EDO FEDERAL CONSTITUTNECY BY THE EDO STATE GOVT THROUGH THE LIAISON OFFICER, MR. JEFFERY OBASANMI AND OTHER STALWALTS OF PDP FACTION LOYAL TO THE GOVERNOR.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Press.
We invited you here today to intimate you so you can help us call the attention of the appropriate authorities to the plan by Edo State Govt to disrupts the free and fair conduct of the general election slated for tomorrow, 25th of February and 11th of March, 2023 in Akoko-Edo LGA.
We have it in good authority that the governor and his agents have put in place plans to ensure that some selected leaders and members of All Progressives Congress, across various communities in Akoko-Edo LGA, whom they perceived as obstacles to their planned free flow of inducement and harassment of voters at these selected polling units are all put in house arrest or outrightly taking out of circulation.
This they intend to do so as to create voters apartheid and put fear in their minds in order to leave the polling units for them to have their way. As we brief you right now, we have been informed that Hon. Kabiru Adjoto, their candidate for the House of Representatives and the Liaison Officer to Akoko-Edo LGA, have already imported different species of thugs from Kogi State into Akoko-Edo. These thugs were alleged to have made their way into our LGA, taking through the Imoga Community of Akoko-Edo LGA.
The simple assignment and purpose for which they are imported is to be dispatched to the listed communities to make sure elections results do not come from the below selected communities for as long it didn’t go the favour of the governor’s faction of PDP.
These communities are as follows: Imoga, Akuku, Ekpesa, Ikpeshi, Atte, Egbigere, Ikiran-Ile, Unumu, Okpe, Ayanran, Ikiran-Oke, Ibillo, Ekpe, Bekuma, Ekor, Uneme-Nekhua, Ewan, Ugboshi-Ele, Eshawa among others. These listed communities and more others are places they planned to ensure that result do not come out from, for as long they didn’t win the election of those places. This is after they have arrested and kept the leaders in house arrest.
It is on record that the Liaison Officer, Mr. Jeffery Obasanmi has in different fora, and most especially during his visitation tours to the palaces of the Akoko-Edo Traditional Rulers, he publicly told the entire Akoko-Edo people that they would do everything possible, both legally and illegally, even if it takes to arrest people, to win the election in Akoko-Edo.
Gentlemen of the Press, we need you to inform the security agents and to bring to the attention of Inec and all other authorities saddled with the responsibilities of conducting free and fair elections in Nigeria, of the desperate move by Edo State Govt to mess their efforts up. The Independent National Electoral Commission, in particular, and the Nigeria Police Force should know those to hold culpable should anything tampered with the success of the election and results coming from these selected communities.
All we ask for is the free, fair, and conducive environment of the conduct of these elections. The people have chosen to remain with APC in Akoko-Edo because we have something to show to them as what we have been able to do since we came into power. All we expected the PDP of governor Obaseki to do too, is to show the people what they have been able to do, with the enormous resources at their disposal in these past three and half years of his second tenure.
Finally, we are appealing to the security agents to do everything possible to forestall this move by the State Govt through the Liaison Officer to Akoko-Edo LGA, Mr. Jeffery Obasanmi, and ensure that no one is harassed, intimidated, or arrested illegally in any part of Akoko-Edo LGA all through the election period. What we are doing is election. We are not fighting war. And election is not do-or-die affair. If you are not on the ground and the people do not vote for you and your party. Take it as such and go prepare for next time, as there is always next time. We want peace in Akoko-Edo, and we want progress in our Local Government Area.
Thank you and God bless.
Signed:
Rt. Hon Peter Akpatason