The Edo State Government is aware of the puerile and unsophisticated effort by Kassim Afegbua, Media Director for the Edo All Progressives Congress, APC, campaign council, to distort the facts surrounding the Peace Accord signing on September 12, in the lead-up to the Edo State gubernatorial election.
A statement issued by Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser, Media Projects September 12, 2024, said it is rather baffling that Afegbua is now speaking for the Nigerian Police, curiously recognizing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) purported ‘boycott’ of the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
It would be curious to the discerning that Afegbua would descend to the realm of the jejune to carelessly interpret what transpired today during the signing of the Peace Accord organised by the National Peace Committee (NPC) led by the former Head of State and Chairman of the NPC, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, in Benin City, to be an act of boycott of the election, jubilantly commending the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on the actions taken so far.
We make bold to say that the only reason we are honouring his rants with a response is because he has now curiously taken to the rostrum to speak on behalf of the Police that has shown obvious and irrefutable bias by its actions leading to the election.
What transpired at the event was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) simply refraining from signing the Peace Accord unless conditions it has put forward to ensure a level playing field for all participants in the election are met. This is not too much to ask for in the circumstances.
For anyone in doubt, pray tell why the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is running helter-skelter to now charge persons his office has held in captivity for close to two months in court just today after we made good our threat to decline signing the Peace pact.
That Afegbua is now confirming all doubt that the APC are in bed with the Police by commending the Police chief is enough reason to reaffirm our conviction on the APC and the Police’s sinister game plan for the election.
We again reiterate our stance that the IGP and his Rogue Contingent are playing out the script of the APC to deploy ‘Federal Might’ to undermine the forthcoming elections in Edo State. This must be resisted by all Edo people at the polls come September 21.
For us, it is only the assurance of a level playing field for all participants in the election that justice would be said to have been done to the good people of Edo State as we prepare for the election.
