The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plots to use the trio of state governors Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Hope Uzodinma of Imo and Yahaya Bello of Kogi, to derail the September 19 Edo State governorship election.
The APC on Thursday named Ganduje and Uzodinma as the chairman and deputy chairman respectively, of its 49-member team to lead the party’s governorship election campaign in Edo State.
Governor Bello was also named as part of the campaign team.
But in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday, the PDP said that it was glaring that the three governors were selected by the APC “to lead its campaign so as to force a combined formula of Kano and Kogi electoral violence as well as Imo state mandate robbery to subvert the will of the people of Edo State in the governorship election.”
The PDP said it was pathetic that the APC only had “a person who has become a butt of international shame after being seen in a viral video stuffing his robe with gratification, in foreign currency, to serve as Chairman of its Edo State governorship campaign council.”
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The also said, “It is equally contemptuous that such a person is being deputised by another individual, who has become a metaphor of electoral manipulation, after being so docketed by a judgment of the Supreme Court.
“It is also disgusting that a governor who deployed a police helicopter to scare voters on election day has been mandated to deploy thugs and dangerous weapons through the northern borderlines of Edo State ahead of the election.”
The party further claimed that part of APC’s plot for the coming poll was to import election mercenaries as observers to attempt to scare the people of Edo State, suppress them and steal their mandate.
“It is however not surprising that such is the drift of the APC campaign, given that it has neither messages nor plans for the people of Edo State, especially, with a candidate like Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who has also been declared by his former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, as a person of questionable character, a fake pastor, treasury looter, rusticated student who is only fit for ‘night meetings’ and should never be entrusted with the office of the governor of Edo State.
“Whereas our candidate, Governor Godwin Obaseki, enjoys the overwhelming support of the Edo people due to his enthusing track record of personal character and performance in office for which even APC leaders have praised for him, the APC candidate has nothing to present to the people.
“Our party, in the strongest terms, cautions the APC to note that the ‘Gandollar,’ ‘Supreme Court Governor’ and ‘helicopter shooting’ formulas cannot work in this election as the people of Edo State have never been intimidated, suppressed, subjugated or overpowered by external political influences,” the PDP said.
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