The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said that the Peoples Democratic Party in the state may not sign any peace accord ahead of the Edo State governorship election.
Governor Godwin Obaseki gave the hint in Benin City when he hosted the Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC), General Abdulsalam Abubakar, who was in the state on a courtesy visit ahead of the scheduled peace-accord signing slated for September 12, 2024.
The Edo State governor lamented that the peace accord may not be needful given the bias nature of the Nigeria Police which in the first place was supposed to be neutral in enforcing the peace accord.
Obaseki told Gen Abubakar in Government House, Benin City that the police has been bias in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and have subsequently embarked on arresting spree of perceived strong supporters of the PDP in the state.
Governor Obaseki expressed serious concern that the police in the state was working for the APC. He noted not less than 10 PDP chieftains perceived as strong political opposition, including the serving Chairman of Esan West Local Government Area, Hon. Collins Aigbogun, has been arrested and the chairman was quickly ferried to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja for no reason.
The governor further told his visitor that that upon learning of the council chairman’s arrest, he reached out to the Edo State Commissioner of Police, requesting that due process be followed and that the matter be handled within the state’s jurisdiction.
According to Governor Obaseki, even as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the Edo State, the police still undermined him.
“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.
“Unlike 2020, I am very worried about the developments in the state today. The party met yesterday, and we might not likely sign this agreement. This is the first time we are witnessing that the person who is supposed to keep and enforce the peace accord is now an active participant in creating a destructive environment,” Obaseki told Gen. Abubakar.
The governorship election in Edo State is scheduled to hold on September 21, 2024 with thress strong candidates from the PDP, APC and the Labour Party (LP) as strong contenders.