‘Democracy on fire in Edo’, PDP cries out to Tinubu
Edo PDP chairman Tony Aziegbemi
Published By: Ayorinde Oluokun
By Jethro Ibileke Secretariat
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Edo, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to call Governor Monday Okpebholo and the state chapter of the APC to order before they throw the state into confusion and anarchy.
He made the call while addressing journalists in Benin, on what transpired when the state chairman of APC, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, led hoodlums to invade and sack their party’s secretariat along Airport Road.
Aziegbemi who insisted that the secretariat belongs to the PDP, described Tenebe’s action as “executive recklessness which points to one direction, anarchy.
He said: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has continued its brigandage, illegality, and violent assault on democracy, and we are deeply worried that if unabated, it may snowball into a breakdown of law and order, leading to anarchy and chaos in the state.”
“At 1:31 pm yesterday, January 16, 2025, the APC, using several Hilux vans and other vehicles, led by Jarret Tenebe, deployed their thugs, backed by police officers from the Government House, to sack the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from its secretariat on Airport Road, Benin City, the Edo State capital.
“The entire operation was violent and brutal as has never been heard of or seen before, and sadly it lasted for more than an hour. The secretariat was vandalised, and there was wreckage and destruction everywhere. Banners and other materials were taken off and destroyed. Lives were put in danger, including mine as the Chairman of the PDP in Edo State. I was forcefully bundled out of my office with the help of Mr Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Blessing Agbebaku, amidst brutal assault and violence against my person.
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“No doubt, this is arguably the worst attack on democracy in any part of Nigeria since the nation’s return to democracy in 1999. Even military regimes before 1999 were not as violent or brutal against dissenting voices as the Okpebholo-led government since they took office on November 12, 2024.
“Today’s violent takeover of the PDP Secretariat by Okpebholo and the APC is a clear reflection of the reign of terror that the people of Edo State have witnessed over the past two months. We state unequivocally that we are the legitimate tenants of the said property.
“It is the same devious tactics deployed to sack and intimidate duly elected council chairmen and vice chairmen out of office, using horse whips and other dangerous weapons. It is the same pattern that is deployed in motor parks and markets, where thugs operating under the protection of the state government harass, intimidate, and extort transporters and traders daily without restraint.
“We must unequivocally state that Edo is at the precipice. Democracy in Edo State is on fire.
“Worst still, the police and other security agencies in the state who are supposed to put them in check appear to be either complacent or complicit.”
He, therefore, called “on the Federal Government, international agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to rein in Governor Okpebholo, who has become an unleashed force of lawlessness, and let him know the limits of his power as a governor and put an end to this executive rascality, illegality, brigandage, and brazen assault on democracy.
“Again, we warn that the wind currently blowing in Edo State is an ill-wind, which will blow no one any good,” he warned.
