Hunger Protest: Edo APC Claims Obaseki Inciting Sedition Against Tinubu and FG; PDP Alleges APC Aiming to Incite Violence

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With barely a few hours to the commencement of the planned nationwide hunger protests, it had been battle of words and finger-pointing between the two leading political parties in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State as the All Progressives Congress, APC on Tuesday accused the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP of using the protest to “promote sedition” against the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government, while the latter raised the alarm that the opposition party was plotting to hide under the protest to cause carnage in the state, and destroy public infrastructure .
In a press release titled “GOVERNOR OBASEKI, IN JUGGERNAUT MODE, PLANS TO ESCALATE PROTEST IN EDO” and dated July 30, 2024, Prince Kassim Afegbua, media consultant to the Edo APC Campaign Organisation, said intelligence report reaching the Campaign Organisation had revealed plans by Governor Godwin Obaseki “to escalate the planned protest for 1st August to score very cheap political points”, adding that they have been inundated with reports pointing in that direction, “in what observers say is his last-ditch effort to whip up support for his anointed candidate”.
Afegbua also accused the governor of withholding the Federal Government palliatives of 20 Trucks of rice given to the state, which he alleged, had been stored in several warehouses across the three Senatorial Districts, instead of distributing them to the poorest of the poor as directed by the Federal Government.
According to the former commissioner for information in the state, “Flowing from his earlier threat, “Nigeria will burn, and I will lead it,” Governor Obaseki is set to use this planned protest to escalate crises in Edo State; especially in Benin City, Uromi, Ekpoma, Auchi and Igarra, with the hope of intimidating political opponents”.
He said the campaign organisation had it on good authority that the governor had been mobilising people underground, “using pecuniary inducement, urging them to come out en masse on Thursday, 1st August, to challenge the APC-led Federal Government. He is promoting
Buttressing his alleged hoarding of the palliatives by Governor Obaseki, Afegbua said “Vigilant Edolites saw the subterranean warehousing of the rice in Emuado area of Ekpoma, in Edo Central Senatorial District”, adding that “The Governor has given directives to his Executives to identify supporters of the ruling Pecuniary Delight Party (PDP) to ensure that only those supporters will benefit from the palliatives; all in the name of raking up support for his beleaguered candidate, Asue Ighodalo”.
He alleged that the governor had perfected his plans to carry out the distribution of the rice about two weeks to the election, “to shore up support for his Asue Ighodalo”, by giving the impression that he (Ighodalo) was the one distributing it, stressing that “This is one of his devious tactics to present the Federal Government in bad light to Edo people, as he intensifies his plans to escalate the protest planned for Thursday”.

Afegbua however concluded that this notwithstanding, “Decrying all Obaseki’s shenanigans, the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo still calls on Edolites to shun any acts that could further jeopardise and or injure the peace and unity of the state. Senator Okpebholo has given assurances that the APC will usher in a season of peachy keenness in governance when he finally mounts the saddle of leadership. He promises to make Edo people happy again. He clearly admonishes Edo people, whatever their leaning, to avoid acts of violence or anything else that could escalate the already bad situation in the state, occasioned by Governor Obaseki’s misrule”.
The PDP, in its counteraccusation contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, drew the attention of security agencies to an alleged plot by the APC and its chieftains to infiltrate the #EndBadGovernance protests in the state to attack and destroy key public infrastructure in Benin City, the state capital “to advance their obnoxious political pursuit”.
He said infrastructure marked for attack included the Secretariat Complex, the Benin Shopping Mall, the Edo Production Centre, and the Ossiomo Power Company.
Alleging that “Members of a particular secret cult have been penned down to lead the attacks with a popular APC leader set to mobilise them to these facilities”, Osagie therefore called on security agencies “to not only provide security at these facilities, but also set their radar on chieftains of the APC during the protests so as to intercept any attempt to throw the state into chaos during the protest, in the best interest of the good people of Edo State”.
The PDP said “The APC is resorting to this devious plan because they have realized the folly of presenting a candidate that is unsuitable for the office of a governor. The party is embarrassed by the fact that their candidate has become the butt of jokes in private and public spaces because of his lack of comportment, finesse and intellectual maturity to comprehend and engage intelligently as someone running for the office of the governor.
“At various instances, the APC candidate has shown poor grasp of basic concepts and his handlers have decided on shielding him from the public glare, hiding instead behind press releases and spokespersons. They have now resorted to violence and subterfuge as their strategy to forcefully take over the government”.