‘Suyi Ayodele
Just a little above 24 hours before the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, the Edo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday raised the alarm that the state government was planning to use the state-sponsored vigilante network to manipulate elections in the state.
This was just as the Edo State Government dismissed the allegation as signs of the imminent failure that awaits the APC at the elections, adding that the state government had no reason to manipulate an election the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would win effortlessly.
The Edo State Police Command, which also responded to the alarm reaffirmed that only the police and other sister security agencies would be allowed to be part of the election.
The Edo APC, in a statement endorsed by the State Publicity Secretary, Uwadiae Igbinigie, alleged that there was a clandestine move by Governor Godwin Obaseki to use the Edo State Vigilante Network to “intimidate, harass and cause mayhem during and after the elections, particularly in the rural areas of the State”.
“It must be noted with serious concern that the Electoral Act 2022 did not and never envisaged the use of vigilante personnel for Security duties during elections. For the avoidance of doubt, the only Security Agents contemplated in the Act for security duties during elections are the Police.
“APC as a party are very happy to see the level of enthusiasm demonstrated by the Edo People towards a hitch-free participation in these elections”, the opposition APC in the state maintained.
When contacted, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Osa Nehikhare, said the APC was raising a false alarm.
“How can we be accused of such an intention in an election that we are going to win? The APC just sit down and cooks up stories. They don’t have evidence to back up their claim. besides, we are so confident we are going to win why should we disrupt an election that we are going to win”, Nehikhare asked.
On his part, the Edo Police Command Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Chidi Nwabuzor, when contacted said: “we have said that there is no quasi-security outfit that will participate in the election but the Nigerian police force and other sister security agencies”.
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