APC
By Dada Ayokhai
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Edo By Election in Ovia federal,Constituency Reverend John Aikpitanyi has raised alarm over an overwhelming presence of APC thugs and local vigilantes deployed to his polling unit, Unit 7, in Oghede of Ovia North East Local Government.
Although he refused to mention name, the PDP candidate hails from the same local government with the Edo State Deputy Governor, Hon. Dennis Idahosa.
He stated that he was compelled by the ugly scenario to call on his legion of supporters and party members to boycott the election if they felt their safety was in jeopardy.
He made these assertions while providing his personal evaluation of the election in his constituency to journalists in Benin.
The soft-spoken reverend noted that he counted nearly 150 armed vigilantes and APC thugs at his polling unit, adding that similar reports from other polling locations portrayed a highly militarised environment.
According to him, “How can you see more than 150 vigilantes holding guns in a polling unit? It doesn’t make sense. What is vigilante doing in a police unit? More than 150 of them”.
Given these circumstances, he reluctantly advised his supporters and other party members to stay away from the election.
Rev. Aikpitanyi expressed astonishment that members of the ruling party, who claim to be popular, are afraid to let the will of the people prevail in a free and fair election, noting that the resort to violence is an indication that they are not as popular as they claimed.
He further explained that his decision to advise a boycott was to prevent violence, emphasising his commitment to decency and decorum and stating that he would not resort to aggression or allow his supporters to be harmed,.
The , Inspector General of Police (IGP) Egbetokun visited the state before the off-cycle election, where he publicly announced a ban on the presence of vigilantes at polling stations.
Unfortunately, it seems that the IGP’s warning went unheeded.
Rev. Aikpitanyi’s opponent in the election is Hon. Omosede Igbinedion, the former Member of the House of Representatives representing the Ovia federal constituency.
In the meantime, Rev. Aikpitanyi has reported the incident to the state office of the Department of State Services (DSS) for appropriate action.
APC Deploys Armed Vigilantes , Thugs to Polling Units In Ovia _ PDP Candidate ,
