The Edo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress have lashed out at Governor Godwin Obaseki, noting that “his antics are desperate, cumbersome to the judiciary and fraught with lies”.

This was in a statement released on Tuesday by the Chairman of the Edo State Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, in which the party also condemned the governor as troubling the security agencies, the courts and having no regard for people’s children.

He said, “Now, Mr Obaseki on Monday visited the Inspector General of Police at the Force Headquarters in Abuja where he expressed worry about the security of voters in the state whereas, Obaseki is the chief sponsor of violent activities in the state with thugs quartered in Government House.”

Going further to accuse the governor, the APC spokesman said that, “it was Obaseki who went to court to obtain an order restraining the police from arresting former Speaker, Kabiru Adjoto and Osaigbovo Iyoha among others who were named as sponsors of the 7 thugs arrested with firearms at the premises of the state House of Assembly – thugs working under the orders and instructions of Godwin Obaseki were arrested for brewing trouble at the State Assembly; this same Adjoto has been deployed to harry and importune the judiciary into bailing them out.

“Obaseki’s thugs shot themselves in Igueben, the report is still fresh and before the police. Another was reportedly arrested on Sunday in Jattu; Philip Shaibu’s community. Just yesterday, one Odimientimi Osiya (aka Osuo) a notorious kidnapper and armed robber known to have been terrorising Edo, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos state was arrested and coincidentally, he’s a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Obaseki on security with arrangements concluded on how he would attack APC members in Siluko ward, Ovia south West Local Government Area. Serially too, Obaseki’s thugs destroys our campaign materials, he had his paid agents in Esan beat up and torture our party members who were innocently pasting posters. People’s children?”

Obaseki says there is no opposition and he will hand over if he loses in a fair contest. The problem is that we do not trust his sense of judgement. The only thing he will regard as a fair contest is one where he wins and he does not mind assassinating the whole state and importing foreigners to live in Edo. That has always been his style.”

Meanwhile, Mayaki questioned why the governor had given up campaigning, could not answer why he was incurring debts of over $75m for the state, and what he was doing in Abuja.

“I’ll tell you what he was doing. We raised an alarm that the governor was taking loans in Edo name and looting money to fund his campaign. He is not campaigning to Edo people. Ask those in the state, he stopped that over a week ago. He is securing the means to orchestrate anarchy right now. The Oba fingered his deputy, Philip Shaibu as arming thugs who also didn’t denied complacency but the Governor is in Abuja complaining about security – who is he deceiving?”