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The Asue/Ogie Campaign Management Council of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State has alleged that the opposition party has planned to attack critical infrastructure and legacy projects of the government through thugs.
The Deputy Director General of Media and Publicity of the campaign council, Olu Martins, made the allegation at a news conference in Benin City, the state capital.
He said intelligence gathered exposed the plans by the opposition to attack and destroy the Civil Service Secretariat Complex and the Benin City Mall, which are legacy projects of the Godwin Obaseki-led government.
He called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and heads of other security agencies to beef up security around the facilities to forestall a breakdown of law and order.
Martins said, “We have credible information that the plan is to attack the Benin City Mall and the Edo Civil Service Secretariat Complex and a couple of other infrastructures. The plan is to destroy and burn the properties.”
He said the infrastructure being targeted belonged to Edo people and not Obaseki.
He added, “We are bringing this to the notice of Edo people and the media so that the security agencies can be on red alert. Everybody must be on red alert.
“We have noticed that the opposition has not bothered themselves about what they will do for the Edo people. What you hear daily are the progressive ideas from the PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
“Those facilities we talked about were built with taxpayers’ money and not with Obaseki’s money. Edo people need to know this is the plan of the opposition, and we would not sit and watch them destroy what the governor built with Edo people’s taxes.”
The state Commissioner for Communications and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, said the planned attack on government facilities was a ploy by the opposition to get the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Edo after the nationwide protest.
Nehikhare said the thugs recruited to cause chaos in the state were known criminal elements walking freely in the state.
Reacting to the allegation, the Director of Publicity, Edo All Progressives Campaign Council, Orobosa Omo-Ojo, described the allegation by the PDP as irrational, saying it should be dismissed.
He said, “This irrational statement can only come from a gang of invaders who has been caught in the act. Their comments should not be taken seriously because they work for Governor Godwin Obaseki, who has declared open war on the Federal Government, to the extent of threatening to burn the country down if his thugs that killed Police Inspector Akor Onuh are arrested.
“They are only designing a web of deceits to cover their heinous plan to promote riots during the peaceful protest in the state and blame President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress for the destruction.”
