e said saiThe Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared that the N12 billion allegation leveled against the 18 local government council chairmen by the state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, is part of his plan to justify his attack on democracy in the state.
Recall that on Tuesday, the state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, accused the 18 suspended local government council chairmen of sending over N12 billion to PDP leaders in the state during their 15 months in office. post.
The Chairman of the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, revealed this in a press release titled “Okpebholo’s lies about sending funds to PDP leaders: A ploy to justify the attack on local councils and the extermination of democracy in Edo”, made available to journalists on Tuesday night in Benin.
He said: “The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to the recent statements by Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State, in which he made spurious and unfounded claims to justify anarchy, extermination of democracy and the brutal attack on the state's democracy. 18 town halls executed by their clueless government.
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“We want to categorically state that the unfounded allegations are a blatant lie and must be dismissed as a cocktail of complete falsehood.
“The resort to unintelligent lies and falsehoods is just another failed attempt by the governor to mislead the public and distract from his government's blatant disregard for the rule of law, lawlessness and the ongoing extermination of democracy in the state.
“We are aware that the governor is desperate to access local council treasuries to reward godfathers and clear political debts incurred during the last gubernatorial election, and is exploring every opportunity to achieve this devious scheme.
“Having failed to illegally suspend the council chairmen, he is now sending thugs and non-state actors to attack the council headquarters, kidnap councilors and force them to remove the duly elected council chairmen.
“He is desperately looking for excuses to justify this illegality and anarchy and has decided to point the accusing finger at the PPD to mask his ignoble acts.
“For clarity, we want to emphasize that every comment made by the governor in the statement is false and baseless.
“At no time have the PDP leaders received funds from the presidents of the local governments, as the governor ridiculously claims.
“We highly doubt that the figure presented by the governor is actually what he intended to express. We know that a few weeks ago you were confused when faced with finances.
“However, we challenge you to provide evidence to support these baseless claims.
“Okpebholo must understand that local government is neither an appendage nor a subordinate of the state government, but a constitutionally recognized third tier of government, whose independence and autonomy are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This executive mischief must be stopped before the State descends into anarchy and chaos.
“As we have repeatedly noted, Okpebholo's real challenge lies in its lack of capacity and development plans for the state.
“He is a politician out of his depth who came to office unprepared, through the back door. We, therefore, urge him to settle down, build capacity and focus on serving the people of Edo State during his brief tenure at Dennis Osadebey Avenue, rather than jeopardize the peace and security of the state in desperate pursuit of their selfish interests.
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