By Eben Enasco Kingsley, Benin City
The leadership of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Edo State Chapter, has appealed to party loyalists and citizens to demonstrate their values following the postponement of the September 10, state governorship election; citing security of lives and properties as major priority over any political aspiration.
Reacting
yesterday on the upshot of the postponement at the Godwin Obaseki’s Campaign Office in Benin, Bar Anselm Ojezua the party’s State Chairman scowled at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the way and manner the issue of shifting the election was addressed without due consultations with critical stakeholders in the state.
He said, ‘’First, the shift in the date for the election was announced without due consultation with the critical stakeholders which includes the All Progressives Congress (APC). Such an important decision as postponement of gubernatorial election which had involved several months of active campaigning would be done after extensive consultation with all the relevant Stakeholders as was done on the 7th of September 2016 when we all agreed that the election should go ahead; admittedly without knowledge of the very strong reservations expressed by the security agencies. We believe that the timing and mode of communication by the security agencies could have been better handled having regards to the very hard work and huge resources deployed towards the election by all concerned’’.
Ojezua however noted that the postponement, would perhaps, provides the right ambiance for the security agencies to address these concerns in addition to whatever other threats they may have discovered; adding, “we also note that this puts paid to the matter relating to our children participating in the ongoing GCE examinations who were to be displaced by the postponed election.
The party’s Gaffer reiterated that, Elections have largely been peaceful in Edo State since 2007 until the sudden interest of the Governors of Rivers State and Delta State who is hell bent on realizing the long standing obsession of an individual to rule this State by all means.
