Obaseki threatens to boycott peace parley

The Edo State Governor and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, hinted on Wednesday that the PDP might not sign the Peace Accord on Thursday ahead of the September 21 governorship poll. Obaseki alleged that the Nigeria Police, responsible for enforcing the accord, had shown through their actions that they were acting in the interest of the All Progressives Congress and waging war against the PDP. The governor made this comment when he received the Chairman of the National Peace Committee, former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, during a courtesy visit to the Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital, ahead of the signing of the Peace Accord on September 12, 2024. In a statement he personally signed on September 10, Obaseki noted that since the commencement of the electioneering process in the state, the actions of the police had shown one-sidedness. During his interaction with Abubakar in Benin, the governor expressed concern that the police, under the influence of the APC, had arrested no fewer than 10 PDP chieftains perceived as strong political opponents, including the serving Chairman of the Esan West Local Government Area, Collins Aigbogun, who was arrested and taken to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Obaseki explained that upon learning of the council chairman’s arrest, he contacted the Edo State Commissioner of Police, requesting that due process be followed and that the case be handled within the state’s jurisdiction. He said his plea was ignored, undermining his authority as the Chief Security Officer of the state. The governor also noted that the PDP chairman had written two petitions to the Inspector General of Police over the harassment of party leaders, but no action had been taken. Obaseki questioned how a peace accord could be signed with an enforcement body that had demonstrated bias in favour of one of the parties in the election. He said, “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. “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. “Even if an offence has been committed in Edo State, why not charge them and try the case here? Why take them to Abuja? Are these crimes high treason? Why not bring them to court here? “The IGP’s office issued a warrant to arrest 60 PDP supporters, driving all our leaders into hiding. My role as the Chief Security Officer of the state is being undermined by the IGP. When I hear of an arrest and contact the Commissioner of Police, I am told the individual has been moved to Abuja. “So, tell me, sir, how can we sign a peace accord under these circumstances? What they’re essentially telling us is that this will be a violent election and they will use coercion and intimidation to win, whether we like it or not. That’s the message. Now that the IGP is in town, we demand that everyone arrested be returned to Edo and tried here. Until then, we have no confidence that the police will protect us in Edo State during the governorship election.” Similarly, the Edo State PDP Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, accused the IG of bias while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Benin on Wednesday. Aziegbemi said, “Before the 27th of July, Edo State was very peaceful. All the political parties had conducted their primaries in peaceful manner and people were optimistic of a successful governorship poll. “After the unfortunate incident at the airport, all hell was let loose. The Nigerian police has been so biased under this IG.” But in response, the IG, who was also at the stakeholders’ meeting said, “I think this is from the PDP chairman of the state; you accuse the IG of bais. You accuse the IG of being partisan because I am bent on unraveling the killing of a police officer? If you hold the opinion that the IG is partisan for going after the killer of the policeman, I think you will remain with that opinion for ever.” In a separate statement, Aziegbemi also alleged that INEC officials were allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. He said: “We are worried that the election may have been compromised even before it starts. This is because we are certain that the officials responsible for conducting a free, fair and credible election are close associates of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. “The INEC REC in Edo is Wike’s cousin and served as a Special Adviser on Lands to him in Rivers State. Everyone in Nigeria knows the antecedents of Wike and his conduct during elections in Rivers State. So, we will not close our eyes and watch him deploy the same tactic in Edo State. “The current Edo State Commissioner of Police, Nemi Edwin-Iwo, is also a close associate of Wike. We believe he would not act in the best interest of Edo people nor even in the spirit and letters of the electoral act. “So, it is no wonder that the police have been acting arbitrarily in the run-up to the election. They have been after members and leaders of the PDP in the last few weeks. As a rogue team, they have been hounding, arresting and whisking PDP leaders away to Abuja in a Gestapo style. So, for us, the precedent has been set and we will not sit and watch these men cause chaos in the state in pursuit of personal vendetta.” However, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Edo, Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie, denied being the mastermind of police arrest of members of the PDP. “If the PDP would not abstain from crimes, the police would continue to arrest its members. There was no point for the PDP trying to whip up political sentiments in the operations of the police, against the APC because of election,” Uwadiae-Igbinigie said.