By Lucky Isibor
The Edo State Government on Wednesday, 15 July dismissed allegations by the Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP) that last Saturday’s local government election was a sham, insisting that the state’s opposition had virtually ceased to exist following the defection of key political actors to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Afegbua, who addressed journalists in Benin City, said the CRPP’s criticism of the election should not be taken seriously because there was no viable opposition left in the state.
Afegbua was responding to a statement by the CRPP, signed by its Chairman, Dr. Samson Isibor, which described the council election as an “allocation of votes” and alleged that the APC, in collaboration with the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), manipulated the outcome by fabricating figures despite what it claimed was widespread voter apathy across the 18 local government areas.
The coalition had argued that the APC’s celebration of over two million votes was “clearly designed to hoodwink President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into believing that the APC still enjoys overwhelming grassroots support in Edo State,” insisting that empty polling units reflected the true mood of the electorate.
But Afegbua dismissed the allegations, saying the APC’s dominance in Edo had effectively eliminated any meaningful opposition.
“Tomorrow, if the presidential election comes, and APC defeats every other party in Edo State, then somebody will come and tell you that they were rigged out. But now ask them where are your gatekeepers because our councillors will be our gatekeepers at the ward level and we have 192 of them. They will also act as agents and ward-level canvassers,” he said.
He added: “There is no more opposition in the state, the governor has been able to win them to the APC, so an opposition that does not exist cannot be talking.”
Beyond the election, Afegbua highlighted what he described as Governor Monday Okpebholo’s commitment to humanitarian intervention, particularly the rehabilitation of Edo indigenes repatriated from South Africa.
He disclosed that the governor, through the Director-General of the Edo State Migration Agency, Lucky Agazuma, facilitated the return and reintegration of the deportees.
According to him, government officials received the returnees at the international airport in Lagos, provided transportation and security to Benin City, and offered financial assistance to affected families.
“When the South Africa returnees came, Nigerians from South Africa, he was right in Lagos at the international airport to receive them. The governor gave vehicles that conveyed them to Benin, with security,” Afegbua said.
He further revealed that the state government presented financial support to the families.
“He received them this week and also gave one million naira each to 41 families, making N41 million, and has promised that if they have proposals to start any business, they should please forward the proposal to us so that the government can guide them to achieving their purpose. You can’t have a better government that is ready to listen to people and also play a part in their lives. So I think the governor deserves commendation for that.”
The commissioner also said the governor recently met with more than 40 traditional rulers from Edo North and Edo Central to strengthen collaboration in tackling insecurity across communities.
According to him, the meeting emphasised the need for traditional institutions to complement government efforts in combating kidnapping and other violent crimes.
“It has gotten to the point that we have to deploy everything that we have to checkmate incidences of kidnapping. That is becoming like a second slavery in our domain,” he said.
Afegbua maintained that the government’s investment in security was already yielding results.
“The governor has invested and continues to invest in the area of security. We are getting results. When the Vegetable Market incident happened, it scandalised those who were scandalising. But within three or four days, we apprehended the guys. After that, we’ve been making a lot of headway and recording success.”
He also cited the recent arrest of suspected kidnappers linked to an incident in Ekpoma.
“Even the one that happened in Ekpoma last week, just over the weekend, they’ve apprehended the guys, neutralised one in the course of trying to arrest them, and the others are in police custody.”
Afegbua disclosed that special courts established to handle kidnapping, cultism and cybercrime cases had commenced operations, although proceedings may not be open to the media for security reasons.
“They may not be open to media coverage for purposes of also guaranteeing the judges some level of security. But it’s a good resource that will deepen the conversation around checkmating kidnappers, cultists, yahoo-yahoo, and all of that,” he said.
The commissioner also appealed to journalists to exercise professionalism and support government efforts through responsible reporting.
“Our relationship is symbiotic. You are on the other side, we are here, but we are partners. Just a sentence in your reportage may cause a whole lot of crisis if you are unable to differentiate what should serve public interest and what should serve your own personal interest,” Afegbua said.