Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki may have accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of practicing false democracy, abusing the use of security institutions to steal the will of the people.
Governor Obaseki stated this in a statewide broadcast following the declaration of the President’s political party, All Progressives Congress, APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, InEC in the last Saturday Edo State Governorship election amid allegations of the wrong use of men of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF for the falsification, inflation and manipulation of the election results at some collation centres.
Governor Obaseki during the broadcast stated that the outcome of the last Saturday Edo Governorship election was not only a tragedy but a travesty or false representation of Democracy in Nigeria. Adding, Edo people feel powerless in the face of brute force by institutions that ought to protect them.
Governor Obaseki who urged the people not to take laws into their hand, or to start violence or destruction of properties as a result of the provocation, said peace and justice will always win, saying, he knows that many of the people feel sad, vexed, aggrieved and daunted in the spirit following the outcome of the guber poll.
According to Obaseki, there were rates of impunity and reckless disregard to the rule of law and processes during the election.
On his counterpart member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri who was the PDP Chairman for the election in a news statement posted on his social media account, said, he wept for Nigeria Democracy after he witnessed what he described as shameful Edo gubernatorial election where APC governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters.
“I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll. The APC’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from InEC’s Irev portal, as collated by InEC from the various Local Government Areas.
What’s truly shameful is APC’s national chairman flying into Edo with a private jet on election day, defying movement restrictions, while their Governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters.
This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage. Nigerians are outraged, slamming InEC for compromising and favouring APC. The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy.
Democracy indeed is under attack. We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better”, Governor Fintiri stated.
We had reported that the last Saturday Edo State Gubernatorial election appeared to be a very big interest for the incumbent Governor of the State, Godwin Obaseki and the former governors of Edo and Rivers States who are currently the incumbent Senator representing Edo North and FCT Minister, Adams Oshiomhole and Nyesom Wike respectively.
Nyesom Wike had said he feel betrayed after he helped Governor Godwin Obaseki to secure power for his current second tenure in office through the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP when the then All Progressives Congress, APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole disqualified him from contesting the governorship seat on the platform of his then political party, APC in 2020.
Adams Oshiomhole had in several occasions also described Governor Obaseki as a betrayal, saying he regretted choosing him as successor in 2016.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in 2020 called on Edo People to vote Governor Obaseki out of office and he shouldn’t be given second term to rule the people but many people in the state then picked offence on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu statements who was only then APC National Chieftain.
The 2023 Presidential election that got President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into power as Nigeria President has been an issue of concern to many.
Scores of people believed that the 2023 election was filled with irregularities, violence, disenfranchisement of eligible voters, manipulation of election results among other insinuations or allegations but the Nigeria Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the political parties and candidates who contested the 2023 presidential election outcome in court were not able to prove their case of wide spread margins of irregularities, manipulation of election results, violence, disenfranchisement even though the apex court noted that there were isolated cases of the allegations which were not enough to rule otherwise against Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, InEC.
Governor Obaseki had refused to sign the traditional routine Peace Accord Agreement on the ground that those who ought to be the promoters of peace are already causing violence ahead the gubernatorial election by thus intimidating, harassing and arresting members of his political party, PDP, to weaken the chances of PDP winning the areas where the arrested and detained party chieftains hail from, saying, the authorities at the Federal Government are doing so for APC to win the the governorship by all means.
The tension in the state made the Benin Monarch, Omo N’oba N’edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare, the second, to order Bisusu sacrificial ceremony to alert the gods or deities in Benin Kingdom to avert any act of calamity before, during and after the governorship election.