Less than 48 hours to the much-talked about Edo State gubernatorial election, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc, Thursday engaged in verbal war over alleged plans to buy voters and disrupt power supply.
Chris Nehikhare, Edo State PDP publicity secretary at a press briefing in Benin City, accused the national leader of APC, Ahmed Bola Tinubu of dispatching a Helicopter loaded with money to the state for the purpose of vote buying.
Nehikhare also accused BEDC of working in connivance with the leadership of APC to disrupt electricity supply across the state, especially during the various wards, local governments and final collation of results.
But reacting, the Edo State Publicity Secretary of APC, Chris Azebamwen described the allegations as baseless and unfounded.
Azebamwen said the allegations showed the desperation of PDP to engage in negative propaganda when it has no political manifestos to sell to the people of the state.
“PDP started by issuing a statement that Bola Ahmed has given directives to all the 20 local governments as well as all the development area councils in Lagos to contribute certain amount to the election in Edo State.
“Tinubu is not the governor of Lagos State; he has no authority over the local government areas. In any case, local governments now have political autonomy from the state. The allegations should be discountenanced. It is ridiculous and baseless,” he said.
Also in its reaction, the management of BEDC described the allegations leveled against it by the PDP as cheap blackmail.
Head of Public Affairs of BEDC, Adekunle Tayo, said the electricity company was a business entity and apolitical.
“Is a cheap blackmail, there is no iota of truth. BEDC is purely a business entity, as such, we remain apolitical. Even the product we distribute is a universal product and we remain neutral.
“We don’t have any special interest in any political party or any other activities rather than just pure observer just like other citizens,” he added.
In his press briefing, the PDP publicity Secretary had urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), observers and other stakeholders in the electoral process to take note of the plots and ensure that necessary actions are taken to avert the sinister plot to subvert the will of Edo people during the election.
“We once again bring to the notice of the general public, lovers of democracy and other stakeholders in the forthcoming Edo State governorship election holding on Saturday, September 19, 2020, plots by the All Progressives Congress and the leader of the party in Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to deploy private jets and helicopters to move money from Lagos to Edo State to rig the poll in favour of the APC.
“We have it on good authority that Tinubu, working in cahoots with the leadership of the APC in Edo State, has gone a step further from the inciting broadcast by sending down helicopters and private jets loaded with money in an attempt to buy our state and annex it as a part of his fiefdom.
“We want the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), observers and other stakeholders in the electoral process to take note of this move and ensure necessary actions are taken to avert the sinister plot to subvert the will of Edo people come Saturday, September, 19.
“Edo people are, by this notice, alerted to the plot to trample on their power of choice and lock them in perpetual servitude to the whims and caprices of a godfather in Lagos,” he stated.
While noting that all eligible voters are in total support of the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who is also the party’s candidate, he appealed to them to come out en-masse to vote as the election would be peaceful.
On the allegations against BEDC, he urged the National Electricity Regulatory Company (NERC) to sanction the distribution company if it goes ahead with orders allegedly issued by the management in connivance with the APC, to disrupt power supply to the collation centres across the state at critical times on Saturday with a view to compromising the election.
“We are alerting BEDC and its management that we are aware of their plot and Edo people would vehemently resist the role of cooperates in attempting to undermine their will in this election,” he said.
