… As Okowa Doles Out N2 Billion For Edo Election, Abandons SA In Hospital
Ahead of the Edo State governorship election re-scheduled for September 28 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Adams Oshiomhole, has accused Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, and Rivers State counterpart, Governor Nyesom Wike, of deploying militants to Edo State to disrupt the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
Oshiomhole made this known in a meeting with Waheed Odusile, National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Benin City revealing that the governors have jointly raised N2b for Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate at a time they cannot pay salaries in their states.
“I have raised the alarm about the decision of Okowa and Wike to make Edo ungovernable during the election and perpetrate violence by exporting militants from some of the South-South states,” he declared.
“As we speak, both governors have raised N2billion to give to Ize-Iyamu when they could not pay salaries in their states. They mobilised militants to Edo to register, preparatory to use them for violence in this election.
“We have eliminated violence in our elections here but in my election in 2007, PDP members killed, three people at Oba primary school and brutalised hundreds of others. But there after we have ensured free and fair election in Edo State.
“But we have asked our people to be on the watch out, during the continuous voters registration exercise, many of them came into town and to my shock INEC registered many of them. But at least we were able to apprehend 13 and we handed them over to the police.
“During the same period in Etsako Central, they carried data capturing machines and turned private residence to registration centers. We did not take laws into our hand, we reported to the police.
“The guy whose house was being used, we reported to the police. We insisted that the police should charge them to court and after they did that they were granted them bail. And all these are PDP players.
“In the course of distributing the PVCs last week at Igueben, Some PDP thugs came to forcibly hijack PVCs from the officer that was distributing them at a school in Igueben and he ran into the residence of the PDP leader. Those PVC cards were recovered by the DSS.
“As we speak many militants have been imported into Edo state and the security agents are aware of this. For us we are ready for the election but we know that PDP has perfected plans to unleash violence. If you watch their public pronouncements, Ize-Iyamu has talked about cancellation and inconclusive elections.
“As we speak I do not know what has been done about the EO that made the data capturing machine available for illegal registration in private residence. We want a peaceful environment to be able to get our people out to vote.
At press time, efforts to reach the Commissioner for Information in Delta, Mr. Patrick Ukah amd the governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS) Mr. Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu, who is holidaying in the United States proved abortive.
Meanwhile, Okowa has abandoned his Special Assistant (SA) on Community Newspaper, Mr. Jonathan Onwuka, whom tricycle crushed over a month ago in the hospital.
Onwuka, who broke one of his legs and waist was first admitted at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Asaba, but later relocated to Saint Luke hospital as Doctors of FMC are currently in a total showdown over salary crisis.
