As the big vote for who will be the next Governor of Edo State gets closer, two main groups, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are arguing a lot with each other.
There are 17 groups in total, with APC and PDP being the main ones that people are watching. They want you to pick their person to be the next leader on September 21, 2024, which is when the election happens. This is organized by a group called the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Both the APC and PDP are saying bad things about each other. They are blaming each other for planning to cheat using the state’s Security Network and the help from the Federal Government.
The latest fight is that APC says PDP and the Governor of Edo are worried. They think the Security Network is being used by Governor Godwin Obaseki to mess up the election in a bad way.
Prince Kassim Afegbua, who speaks for the APC, says the Security Network is hiding its bad plans to change the real choice of the people of Edo.
He also says there is a group of armed people, about 11,000 of them, who are being helped by PDP. These people were told to hide their guns so the police and other security won’t find them.
He says they found out about these plans through messages in a WhatsApp group. One message told them to hide weapons, another told them to fight back if arrested, and another said that if they block roads, there should be at least five people involved.
On the other side, the PDP says that their person doesn’t need to cheat to win. The PDP’s media person, Olu Martins, says that people in Edo State are smart and know who is good enough to be the Governor.
Olu Martins says, “Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the PDP candidate, is well-known for being smart and hardworking. He doesn’t need to cheat.”
He also says that APC is acting scared because the election is near. Martins read a boring message from APC that accused the state government of planning to cheat. He says the message was full of lies and didn’t need a response.
Dr. Asue Ighodalo has been talking to people all over Edo State, sharing good ideas about how to lead and take care of the state. People from areas like Edo South, Edo Central, and Edo North are listening and liking his ideas.
He added that Dr. Asue Ighodalo has been the smartest candidate in the race and that his talks and media appearances are making people in Edo State really think about who they want to vote for.