As APC set to receive over 20,000 leaders of the people’s democratic party, PDP into APC on Friday there has been an ongoing fiasco between the Governor of the state Obaseki and the party National chairman Adams Oshiomhole. According to the suspended secretary to the party in the state Mr Lawrence Okah, He said: “We are raising this alarm so that the world will know that governor Obaseki intends to unleash mayhem on APC members in Edo state after he had perfected plans to join the PDP.
“We have informed him of the scheduled rally. His deputy has also been informed but they have vowed to disrupt any event that will boost the strength of the APC in Edo state. This claim that cultists are invading the state is arrant nonsense. We are holding APC rally and we have accordingly informed all relevant authorities.
“We appeal to the Inspector-General of Police, the Edo State Police Commissioner and the DSS to provide security to our members on that day. We use this opportunity to appeal to the governor to toe the path of peace and avoid violence because no blood of any Edo man is worth the ambition of anybody.
“We urged security agents to be at alert because, since the preparation for this rally, our members are being harassed while many are being threatened and beaten across the state.”
Meanwhile, the Governor who travelled with the President to Egypt and might not return before Friday said, he has not been informed on any proposed rally in the state. Also, Chairman of APC in Edo state, Ojezua, has described the planned rally as “provocative and capable of disrupting the peace” in the state, said it was not the APC national body that should inform the state organs about any rally.
He said: “I am not aware of any rally in Edo. We don’t know anything about it. Is it not absurd that the governor of the state is not aware? We are not a party to it and it must not be held in our name.”
The party chairman said in a statement: “The attention of the party has been drawn to information being circulated by some unauthorised people to the effect that the APC in the state is receiving some new members on Friday, December 13, 2019, at Garrick Memorial School, Ekenwan Road, Benin City.
“Neither the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who is the leader of the APC in Edo State, nor other leaders of the party is aware of the purported declaration rally. It is, therefore, highly provocative and capable of creating breach of peace.
“We urge members of the APC in the state not to have anything to do with the event. The organisers of that event are sufficiently seasoned and experienced as politicians to know the proper procedure and tradition usually attendant to this sort of event.”
But the factional chairman of Edo APC, Col David Imuse, said Edo cannot have two chairmen as there can only be one party chairman in the state.
He said: “As at today, the chairman is Col. David Imuse (rtd). The next line of action is to strengthen the party for the challenges ahead and win future elections.
“We are not at a press war with anybody. The party leadership took a decision and the national headquarters affirmed that decision. So, whatever we do here is subject to ratification by Abuja; the party took a decision here and it was affirmed in Abuja.
“We had NEC meeting, it was ratified and affirmed. We had the Southsouth leaders meeting it was affirmed and in the meeting of all the chairmen of APC nationwide, it was affirmed.”
“I don’t dwell on illegality. I am a highly focused person so right now the task before us is how to fortified party. Right now we are preparing for the reception of our brothers who are coming back home to strengthen the party.”