Peace accord, alleged harassment… the controversies, concerns ahead of Edo guber election

Edo state is on the edge as the governorship election inches closer. The September 21 gubernatorial election has been touted as a high-stake, no-holds-barred battle between three leading political parties.

One of Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Olumide Akpata, flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) are expected to succeed Godwin Obaseki, the outgoing governor of the state.

During a war of words with Adams Oshiomhole, his predecessor, Obaseki described the election as “do or die; if they do, we will die.”

The political landscape is heating up with controversies surrounding candidates’ eligibility, harassment of party members and most importantly alleged interference by external forces — the security personnel. 

As D-day dawns, TheCable beams light on the controversies that have characterised the build-up to the governorship election.

OKPEBHOLO’S GAFFE, AGE FALSIFICATION SAGA AND CONVOY’S FATAL CRASH

In what appeared to be a slip of the tongue at a campaign rally on September 7, APC’s Okpebholo said that if elected governor, he would provide the people of Edo with “insecurity.”

“We’re going to provide you with insecurity,” Okpebholo said in a video clip that went viral on social media.

But he quickly corrected the statement after Oshiomhole, standing beside him on a podium, signalled to him.

Before this, the governorship candidate had also made a controversial statement concerning the construction of interstate roads in Edo.

When asked about the deplorable roads in Edo during a question-and-answer session, Okpebholo said he would repair interstate roads and claim double the amount from the federal government if elected as governor.

“If I were him (Obaseki), if I put N10 million there (on federal roads), I would claim 20 million from the federal government,” he said.

Okpebholo’s gaffes are just minor issues when compared to the age falsification case against him at a magistrate court in Abuja.

In a suit, Honesty Aginbatse, a PDP chieftain, alleged discrepancies in the birth dates submitted by Okpebholo to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He alleged that Okpebholo’s 2023 senate nomination form indicated his birth date as March 29, 1970, while his 2024 governorship nomination forms contain conflicting birth dates: August 29, 1970, on an age declaration form, August 29, 1972, on his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate, and August 1, 1977, on his INEC voter card.

Meanwhile, Abubakar Mukhtar, the presiding magistrate, has summoned Okpebholo to appear before the court on September 20 – 24, a few hours before the governorship poll.

Amid all of these, on September 14, Okpebholo’s campaign convoy was involved in a fatal accident that took the lives of five persons.

One of the vehicles in his convoy reportedly hit a Toyota Camry carrying five persons, killing the occupants, including the driver.

While nobody has been arrested or prosecuted, the news of the accident continues to trail Okpebholo as he heads into the poll.

VERBAL CLASH AMONG POLITICAL STAKEHOLDERS

In an unusual verbal barb at the PDP campaign in Esan, south-east LGA, Betsy Obaseki, the wife of the governor, said Edo women should vote for Asue Ighodalo because he is the only candidate in the election with a wife.

Betsy introduced Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, wife of the PDP candidate, to the crowd of supporters and added that voting for Ighodalo would translate to women’s empowerment.

“Let’s campaign and vote for the best candidate in this forthcoming election. I want to introduce his wife. Incidentally, out of all the candidates contesting this election, only one has a wife,” she said.

“That is our own party candidate — Asue Ighodalo. This is his wife, Ifeyinwa Ighodalo.”

In response to the statement, Oshiomhole said “he’s shocked” to hear such a statement from a “woman who has no child.”

“I was shocked yesterday to see Mrs Obaseki, the first lady, saying our candidate has no wife. I’m sorry she had to say that because here is a woman who has no child. Between him (sic) and Obaseki, they are childless. They are not even ready to adopt,” he said.

“I don’t blame anybody who doesn’t have a child, but people who have a love for children go to a motherless home and adopt. They have not adopted. They are both in their sixties.”

Oshiomhole did not stop there. The leader of the APC in the state also accused the candidate of the PDP of involvement in “Planwell”, a Ponzi scheme that surfaced in Edo in the early 1990s.

He said Ighodalo and all his associates became rich from the scheme after they fleeced the people of Edo.

However, Ighodalo has described the allegation as “baseless and unfounded” and asked his lawyers to institute a N20 billion naira suit against the former governor for defamation.

ALLEGATIONS OF HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION

The ruling PDP has accused the “federal-backed” APC of using the officers of the Nigeria Police Force to harass its members.  

Obaseki alleged that the police are engaged in political partisanship, adding that officers have intimidated, arrested and transferred PDP members to Abuja to demoralise the party ahead of the election.

The governor also claimed that the police had detained 10 PDP members without sufficient evidence or valid cases against them. 

As a result of this development, Obaseki vowed that the party would not sign the peace accord.

“As we speak, 10 PDP members were arrested and detained in Abuja without trial. Two days ago, they arrested a local government chairman,” the governor said.

“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.”

PEACE ACCORD UNDER SCRUTINY

The National Peace Committee, headed by Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state, drafted an agreement, but the Edo PDP and its candidate have refused to sign it.  

Before his “do or die” statement, Obaseki had vowed that the party would not sign the peace accord due to the harassment of party members by the security personnel.

“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,” Obaseki said during a courtesy visit by Abubakar.

“Unlike 2020, I am very worried about the developments in the state today. The party met yesterday, and we may not sign this agreement.”

True to his words, on September 12, when other political parties and candidates signed the peace accord, the PDP and its candidate refused to sign it.

As the election approaches, Edo residents are anxious about the outcome as they seek peaceful and credible polls, while civil society organisations and observer groups call for increased transparency and accountability amid the ensuing controversies.