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Okowa, Wike imported militants to disrupt Edo Election, Oshiomhole alleges

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Okowa, Wike imported militants to disrupt Edo Election, Oshiomhole alleges

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and his Delta State counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa have been accused of importing militants into Edo State with the aim of disrupting the governorship elections in the state.

According to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who made the accusation in Benin City on Thursday, the governors have also raised N2bn for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

This, he said was shocking at a time the states could not pay salaries of workers.

Oshiomhole, stated this when the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalist, NUJ, Waheed Odusile paid him a visit, insisting that the All Progressives Congress, APC, was ready for a peaceful  election.

The governor, who said he had raised an alarm earlier that Okowa and Wike had decided to make Edo ungovernable during the election by bringing in militants from South South states, said: “As we speak, both governors have raised N2billion to give to Ize-Iyamu when they could not pay salaries in their states. They mobilised militants to Edo to register, preparatory to use them for violence in this election. We have eliminated violence in our elections here but in my election in 2007 PDP members killed three people at Oba primary school and brutalised hundreds of others. But there after we have ensured free and fair election in Edo State.

Read also: Why INEC fixed Edo guber for Sept 28, 2 days after Oba’s coronation

“But we have asked our people to be on the watch out, during the continuous voters registration exercise, many of them came into town and to my shock INEC registered many of them. But at least we were able to apprehend 13 and we handed them over to the police. During the same period in Etsako Central, they carried data capturing machines and turned private residence to registration centers. We did not take laws into our hand, we reported to the police.

“The guy whose house was being used, we reported to the police. We insisted that the police should charge them to court and after they did that they were granted them bail. And all these are PDP players.

“In the course of distributing the PVCs last week at Igueben, Some PDP thugs came to forcibly hijack PVCs from the officer that was distributing them at a school in Igueben and he ran into the residence of the PDP leader. Those PVC cards were recovered by the DSS.

“As we speak many militants have been imported into Edo state and the security agents are aware of this. For us we are ready for the election but we know that PDP has perfected plans to unleash violence. If you watch their public pronouncements, Ize-Iyamu has talked about cancellation and inconclusive elections.

“As we speak I do not know what has been done about the EO that made the data capturing machine available for illegal registration in private residence. We want a peaceful environment to be able to get our people out to vote” he said

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews….

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