‘Don’t pretend to be solving a problem you caused by sponsoring thugs to hijack #ENDSARS protests,’ group says to Prince Clem Agba.

The group, Forum for Progressive Governance and Accountability (Forum4PGA), warned the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, to desist from attempting to solve a problem he caused with the instigation of violence by sponsoring thugs and fake news on social media towards hijacking the #ENDSARS protests in Edo State, which almost caused a breakdown of law and order.

In a statement by its Secretary, Ohunyon Festus Egbenososa, the group said it had it on good authority that the junior minister working with the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, and other criminal elements, were responsible for sponsoring hoodlums, who compromised the peaceful protests in the state and initiated a series of coordinated attacks to cause a breakdown of law and order.

The group said attempts to organise town hall and stakeholder meetings in Edo State in the wake of the #ENDSARS protests have been exposed to be a plot to conceal the ignoble deeds of Agba and his allies, noting that Agba’s actions in perpetuating preconceived violent attacks on innocent citizens was shameful and unpatriotic.

According to group, “We are using this medium to put the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, on notice to desist from his plans to undermine the peace and harmony that is gradually returning to our dear state.

“We watched closely as the junior minister and his allies have been bitter against President Muhammadu Buhari for refusing to use federal might to violate the will of the people during the recent poll in the state. This led to their loss in the governorship election, causing them to mobilise thugs and other criminal elements to cause mayhem.

“Hence, we are alarmed that Prince Agba is attempting to hold townhall meetings to act like a saint, while in fact he is the despicable villain in the scheme of things. This endeavour to cause mayhem is laced with malice and vengeance. It is a ticking timebomb at a time the state is recovering and normalcy is returning to the public space. We advice against it and call on the minister to desist forthwith with such plans and rather explore other means to exert himself for the development of our dear state.”

The group fingered Agba and his allies as being responsible for spreading fake news and falsehood and directing hoodlums to the government warehouse at Medical Stores Road, in Benin City, the state capital, for looting of the strategic reserve of palliatives and essential medical supplies for children and women.

They added: “They have a well-calibrated mode of operation, which is to profile a government asset or any thriving private establishment, disseminate falsehoods and alternative facts and direct a cache of thugs (who have been prepared for the assignment) to attack and vandalise the facility and get ordinary people to join them, to give it the semblance that it was a masses-led action. Thereafter, the images from the destruction are propagated on social media by their agents to create a sense of lawlessness and unrest across the country.

“A recent attempt to commit arson in Edo North was botched and a popular thug linked to Oshiomhole named Atarodo, was caught and named as being responsible, which aligns with the findings earlier made about Agba.”