The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday expressed concern over the trend of the state descending into a dictatorship under the supervision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The Edo PDP stated that it was genuinely concerned over how some people who were never elected as councilors gathered on Friday morning to accuse the leadership of Oredo Local Government Area of the state led by Dr. Tom Obaseki.
The party warned that this trend is a precursor to a dictatorship in the state.
Addressing journalists late on Friday afternoon at the party's state secretariat, the party's Interim Committee Chairman, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, called on traditional rulers and opinion leaders to intervene and save democracy. , just as he asked security agencies to take the attention seriously. of the ugly development in the state.
Aziegbemi, who spoke at the press conference in the company of the Acting Secretary of State, Chris Nehikhare, said the party was drawing the attention of Nigerians and Edo residents over what happened in Oredo Local Government Area on Friday in the morning, when people not known and not chosen. broke into the council secretariat to take action.
The Edo PDP Chairman added that the 12 elected councilors of the council area had gone into hiding after their leader was threatened and attacked, highlighting that the 12 genuine councilors later met and made a video after what happened in their chamber. .
Aziegbemi said: “We ask ourselves, what is happening in Edo? How can under this governor, how can he allow impostors to say they have chased away elected officials from the council?
“People who did not participate in the elections, people who do not have a certificate of return, just gather in a room and say that they have removed the leader of the house, they have removed the president of the council, and everyone is silently?
“We have said this before our traditional rulers, our opinion makers, our religious leaders in Edo State. They are letting down the people of Edo. If they imagine that this is about politics, that we should let politicians do what they do, we will reach a point where the sky will fall on us all.
“We have therefore deemed it necessary to invite you to have this emergency press conference and draw the attention of the President, the IGP and the DG SSS to what is happening in Edo State this morning. And we urge you, very urgently, to take this problem very seriously and solve it now while you still can.”
It may be recalled that in the last three weeks there has been a flurry of impeachments against the chairmen of the local government areas in the 18 councils of the state.
The resort to impeachment followed the alleged suspension of the council chairmen by the Edo State House of Assembly, a decision which the state High Court described as illegal given the July 17, 2024 ruling. of the Supreme Court that granted autonomy to local governments throughout the country. .
READ ALSO FROM Newslodge
N12 billion allegation, ploy to justify attack on LG chairmen – Edo PDP