The Media Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress(APC) for Edo State governorship election has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of importing thugs to cause violence.
The opposition party feared the thugs may be armed to attack innocent people.
APC alleged the Governor was moving with thugs during campaigns, urging security agents to call him to order.
A statement by the Chairman of the Media Campaign Council, John Mayaki, asked security agents to rise to the occasion to prevent the proliferation of arms in Edo.
But, the Governor’s media aide, Crusoe Osagie, denied the allegation, saying that it was unfounded and baseless.
Mayaki said: “In a new development that further stretches the tyrannical reach of Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the embattled Edo State has been importing thugs to the state.
“A reliable source in the Government House revealed that Obaseki had gone ahead to employ a band of rascals whose only work is to shout themselves to riches, soak a state in conflict, and escort the governor to campaign venues.
“First, the PDP and Mr. Godwin Obaseki sought to rationalize and justify the presence and appearance of the blood-sucking band of men.
“Insecurity in Edo State has worsened and the Governor, rather than invest the security votes he jacked up to 7.5 billion naira annually, chose to hide the funds and pursue selfish ambitions with it.
“It also begs the question: “why is the PDP, of all the contesting political parties and their ongoing campaigns, being the only one assaulted and experiencing violent response from the communities?
“Attempts to answer this question only unmasks the face of Obaseki’s incompetent and inept leadership, his unpopularity and rejection by the people of Edo State, both of which facts agreed to by neutrals and secretly upheld by his fellow partymen who are now holding him to ransom to get their own cut of his accumulated loot before the curtain is drawn in November.
“Why is the PDP, out of over 10 contesting political parties, being the one filing reports for imagined attacks on their convoy?
“Where did Obaseki, the governor who failed to win over the agitating Association of Resident Doctors, get the money to fund the unnecessary stock-up of gubernatorial armory, dangerously arming boys that will return home to roost someday?
“We demand an explanation from both the executive government of Edo State, on how and why and what qualifies Edo State government for the procurement of arms and weapons.
“Is it because we are at war, or that the visionary organ of the government foresaw an impending future of war, and is now obligated to react proactively in preparation of this imagined and conceived time?”
“Investigation should be launched into the process of procuring these weapons. They should, without pardon, be subjected under thorough examination, and utterly urged to account for the financial behavior and pattern seen to have rooted itself, lately, in Edo State.”
“Video footage exists of these new Obaseki boys touting the guns and weapons procured for them by the shameless governor, shooting bullets here and there into the thin air, choreographing a horrible display of “clearing road” for the power-drunkard.”

By Emmanuel Oladesu