Ahead of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not put its signature on the Peace Accord for the polls.
Obaseki, who is a member of the PDP stated this during a visit by former military Head of State and chairman of the national peace committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
During the visit, the Edo governor claimed that police personnel, who are expected to enforce the peace accord, are working for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, 10 ten members of the PDP including a LGA chairman have been detained by the police force, with no sufficient evidence or valid cases against them.
“You are very conversant with the politics of Edo State. You were here in 2020, and we had a very heated election. You know this is an off-cycle election, and there is a lot of attention,” he said.
“Unlike 2020, I am very worried about the developments in the state today. The party met yesterday, and we may not sign this agreement.
“This is the first time we are witnessing that the entity supposed to maintain and enforce the peace accord is now actively creating a destructive environment.
“The opposition party in the state, the APC, has always argued that they may not be as popular and didn’t win in the last election, but they have promised to use federal power to determine the outcome of this election.
“We thought it was just rhetoric, but in the last four weeks, we’ve had a situation where from the office of the IGP, armed police gangs have entered Edo state to invade, arrest, and take away PDP members.
“As we speak, 10 PDP members are arrested and detained in Abuja without trial. Two days ago, they arrested a local government chairman.
“The chairman was heading home when he was attacked and shot at. We reported the incident, and the police asked him to provide evidence. He complied, but instead of investigating, they arrested him. As I speak, he is in Abuja.”
