APC planning violence, bringing in arms ahead of Edo election —Obaseki

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Friday accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state of planning to import arms to intimidate and harass his supporters ahead of the September 19 governorship election in the state.

Obaseki, who stated this when he hosted Muslim leaders at the Government House, in Benin City, however, expressed his readiness to stand with the people, defend their interests and develop the state.

The governor said: “I am not afraid of any man but God. I know the gang up is to provoke me and my supporters but we will not fall for their tricks as God will help us.

“As I speak to you now, you can’t imagine that police from Abuja are already in the state and have been paid to arrest our supporters.

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“They have been paid by a billionaire to arrest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters in the state. This billionaire sponsored the attacks on me and other PDP governors at the Palace. This is to tell you the level of corruption and impunity we face.

“They are planning violence, bringing arms, intimidating our supporters as part of their strategy. They know that if we have a free and fair election, they stand no chance.

“Their strategy is to continue with their propaganda and lies. They know they don’t have a record of performance; their plan is just to intimidate our supporters and ensure they stay off the polling booth.

“They attacked my supporters and wanted me to react to the attacks. I will not attack them back because as the Chief Security Officer of the state, my responsibility is to maintain peace. We would continue to do that at all costs.”

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