The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Campaign Council for Edo Governorship election has faulted meeting between former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the Chief of Staff to President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, saying the former national chairman of APC is not capacity to demand for deployment of security officers for the election.
The national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at a press conference in Abuja said if truly the meeting was aimed at having a itch free election in Edo State, it ought to have involved representatives of all other political parties and stakeholders in Edo State.
He stated that : “Nigerians were further alarmed by the admission that Oshiomhole, the face of the APC campaign, was at the Presidential Villa for discussions on “emerging incidents of violence in the run-up to the election” as well as the “use of Law enforcement”, in an election in which he and the APC have displayed desperation to grab power at all costs.
“The question is: when did Oshiomhole become the National Security Adviser (NSA). When did Oshiomhole become a service chief? Is Oshiomhole holding any statutory position in the Government or even in the APC, as a party, to warrant a security meeting with the President, if the meeting was not for ulterior partisan purposes on the Edo elect.
“This development also points to the obvious fact that the security architecture of our nation has been abandoned by statutory officials and now vested in political hooligans as well as characters like Oshiomhole for suppression of innocent Nigerians and rigging of elections.
“If the meeting was indeed focused on genuinely curbing violence, as being claimed by the Presidency, why were leaders of other political parties and other stakeholders in the Edo Governorship election not invited? Why was this meeting centred on the arrest and clampdown of political rivals, the PDP chieftain asked.
Olaoluwa Adekunle
