Edo govt condemns violence, says bomb explosion, others plot to distabilise state

The Edo State Government has faulted claims that Governor Godwin Obaseki was behind the political violence that resulted in the bombing of residences of perceived political opponents within the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC).

Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Paul Ohonbamu, who spoke with journalists in Benin City, said violence in the state, was a confirmation that all manner of persons with a history of violence had joined the APC.

Ohonbamu said the state remained peaceful and warned all political actors perpetrating violence to desist from doing so to allow peace reign in Edo.

“It is unfortunate that desperate politicians want to create tension where there is none and give the impression to the President and the whole world that law and order have broken down in the state.

“The purported defection of some EPM members to the APC was a sign of disaster. I don’t think that what is happening now is unexpected. This is exactly the kind of result you get when all manner of persons defect to the party.

“The tendency is to embarrass the state and sustain the smear campaign to make the people believe that Governor Obaseki is not doing well in terms of security, but this is not the situation. It is necessary for people to know that every thing in terms of security architecture is in place. They are the ones perpetrating all violence,” Ohonbamu said.

However, a former Deputy Governor of the state, Pius Odubu, frowned on the rising insecurity in Edo occasioned by the political crisis in the state chapter of APC.

Reacting to the bomb explosion at the residence of APC Secretary, Lawrence Okah and other party leaders, Odubu said the incidence undermined state security, adding, “The recent bomb attacks and other forms of violence against members of the APC in Edo State represents a brutal affront on the security of life and property.