… says govt’ll act within the law to neutralise plots
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has accused a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, and Captain Hosa Okunba, a Benin billionaire, of sponsoring thugs to cause mayhem in the state.
He said this was being done to undermine the will of the people in the forthcoming September 19, 2020 governorship election in the state.
The governor said in a statement on Monday, signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, that the duo and their allies had resorted to violence “after discovering that they cannot win the governorship election in a fair contest.”
The statement said, “It has come to our notice that the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and a Benin billionaire, Captain Hosa Okunbo, held a meeting on July, 19, 2020, where they perfected plans to recruit thugs to disrupt the forthcoming September 19 governorship election in the state, having discovered that they cannot win the election in a fair contest.
“In the meeting held at Okunbo’s residence on Aiguobasimwin Street, GRA, Benin City, they met with these thugs, gave them targets and paid them in advance to cause trouble and undermine the will of the people during the elections.”
The statement stressed that Okunbo was a key figure in the gang-up to take Edo backward, adding, “He is actively supporting and sponsoring the warlords, thugs and ill-intentioned politicians that are scheming to dislodge Governor Godwin Obaseki so they can have free access to the state’s treasury.
“The people are not deceived any longer with Okunbo’s repeated denials that he is not involved in politics.”
Noting that the state government would act within the ambit of extant laws to neutralise the alleged plots by Oshiomhole and Okunbo, the statement said, “We are therefore calling on security agencies to quickly intervene, investigate and reign in Okunbo in his quest to set the state ablaze and foist an unpopular candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, on the people through violence and thuggery.
“The Edo State Government would, however, not rest on its oars in exploring all legal options to fish out these merchants of violence and destruction and bring them to justice.”
