Edo gov’t raises alarm over plot to disrupt LG polls

The Edo State Government said it has uncovered plot by the opposition to disrupt the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

It said reports and several checks with relevant security agencies in the state confirmed that the plot was perfected to cause mayhem and general sense of insecurity in the state during the polls.

A statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communications Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said the plan also included the hiring of militants from neighbouring Niger Delta states to instill fear in the electorate and stop them from exercising their franchise during the elections.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is plotting the disruption, after failing abysmally to dissuade anyone at a press conference it organised recently, where it threatened to go to court to restrain the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) from conducting the elections,” statement said.

Osagie, however, assured that security agencies had been fully briefed and were on alert.

Responding, the PDP described the state government’s allegation as a figment of its imagination.

A statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Osa Nehikhare, said the party had challenged the elections, the composition of EDSIEC and the validity of the Edo State House of Assembly to cut short the election notice from 90 to 45 days. the