Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not sign the peace accord for the September 21 governorship election in the state.
Obaseki stated this while addressing former military head of state and chairman of the national peace committee, Abdulsalami Abubakar.
The governor alleged that police personnel, who are expected to enforce the peace accord, are working for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obaseki claimed that police have detained 10 PDP members, including a local government chairman, without sufficient evidence or valid cases against them.
“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 may not sign this agreement.
“This is the first time we are witnessing that the entity that is supposed to maintain and enforce the peace accord is now actively creating a destructive environment.
“The opposition party in the state, the APC, has always argued that they may not be as popular and didn’t win in the last election, but they have promised to use federal power to determine the outcome of this election.
“We thought it was just rhetoric, but in the last four weeks, we’ve had a situation where from the office of the IGP, armed police gangs have entered Edo State to invade, arrest, and take away PDP members.
“As we speak, 10 PDP members were arrested and detained in Abuja without trial. Two days ago, they arrested a local government chairman.
“The chairman was heading home when he was attacked and shot at. We reported the incident, and the police asked him to provide evidence. He complied, but instead of investigating, they arrested him. As I speak, he is in Abuja,” he said.
The parties participating in the election are expected to sign the peace accord on Thursday (today).
