The Edo State Government has disagreed with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state over the latter’s accusations on the system of governance being presided over by Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The APC had at a press breifing on Thursday in Benin City, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgent national importance, declare a state of emergency in the state over what they termed “collapse of governance” in the state.
But, in a swift response to the allegations and call for a state of emergency, Andrew Emwanta, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, said the state of emergency should be more appropriately directed to a Federal Government, which they lead and under which “Nigerian lives are slaughtered and maimed on a daily basis all across Nigeria.
He said: “In Nigeria today, under the leadership of the APC, you cannot travel from Abuja to Kaduna; Abuja to Keffi; or from Abuja to Minna, by road, without a 70 percent chance of being attacked, kidnapped or killed by bandits. And yet they gather in the safety of Benin City, provided by the excellent leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki and mouth non-existent chaos.
“The APC wants a state of emergency declared in a state that did not only pay salaries and pensions of state government workers by December 14, but also released funds to the local governments to ensure that their employees are also paid salaries in time for the yuletide celebrations, while the APC-led Federal Government was struggling to meet their Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) obligations for the end of year.”
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Emwanta added that “It is now apparent that the Edo APC is stuck in the past, refusing to accept the reality that government has evolved and no longer dwell on the anachronistic ideas they are used to when they were in government. Today, the advances in technology deployed in public service administration, basic education reform, youth empowerment, and other areas of technology intervention are too sophisticated for them to comprehend, which is why they have elected to launch these futile attacks.
“We are not surprised by this outburst. Hence, we advise the public to be wary of the antics of the APC, their stale lies and baseless propaganda.”
He assured that the PDP-led government in Edo State has and will continue to put the interest of the people over and above the interest of all others, adding that the present administration will not derail the mandate given freely by the majority of Edo people in September last year.
Addressing journalists, David Imuse, Edo State chairman of the party, claimed that the PDP-led government of Governor Obaseki can no longer secure lives and property of Edo State citizens which according to him is in contrary to his oath of office.
The opposition party in the state also alleged that the present administration “has mortgaged the future of Edo State with a penchant for clandestine borrowing of billions of Naira at home and abroad; and there is no regard for rule of law and completely disregards all court order except those in his favour.
The party said Obaseki, though democratically elected has allegedly turned himself into a maximum ruler, and has arrogated to himself the powers of the three arms of government.
“Many people in Edo state are worried with the approach of Obaseki to the lingering slide of governance and brutal abuse of the Constitution. It is in the light of the precarious situation Edo state has found itself under Governor Obaseki, which is almost akin to anarchy that the All-Progressives Congress is calling on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Edo.
“Our call is predicated on the fact that Obaseki would rather prefer to be a sole administrator of Edo state rather than a democratically elected governor. With a state of emergency, his present disposition towards governance will be legitimized. He would not need a legislature, cabinet or even local government chairmen to function,” the APC said.
