Following the political violence that enveloped Edo State in the past one month, Governor Adams Oshiomhole held a town hall meeting last Tuesday which was attended by traditional rulers across the three senatorial districts of the state, students, civil society groups, youth organizations and many others. He briefed the gathering about the political situation in the state, just as he used the opportunity to respond to the allegations by two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Prince Frank Erewele, who accused him of masterminding attacks on Ize-Iyamu’s wife’s clinic and Erewele’s home.

Oshiomhole also reacted to the mayhem in the state House of Assembly quarters. Excerpts:

By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City

Edo Assembly quarters attack

Before the incident happened, I drew the attention of the police commissioner so that he could provide police and secure the premises. I have since confirmed with the Commissioner of Police that indeed my Chief Security Officer called him and asked him to deploy police to the House of Assembly quarters to protect the quarters from being attacked. From all I learnt from the Speaker who is the head of the House of Assembly, a honourable member went to the quarters at about 11pm that day. Seeing him along with some people suspected things, the security people refused him entry into the quarters.

The lawmakers decided to scale the wall with the help of those who came with him and jumped into the Assembly quarters. Even in your private residence, if your security men see someone scaling the wall, jumping into your premises, will they give him executive escort? So the lawmaker became a victim of his own devices. But, as they say, those who live on violence may end up being consumed by violence. And I am not about to suggest that two wrongs make a right but it is difficult for me to endorse that the lawmaker has a right to mobilize people to attack and force his way into the House of Assembly including having to scale the Assembly quarters wall fence. That cannot be tolerated in any civilized country.

How I was abused by PDP supporters during Mr President’s visit

Vehicles destroyed by the hoodlums at the Edo Legislative Quarters

A couple of days after this incident, the President was visiting Edo to perform a ground breaking ceremony of a private power plant being built by some private investors in which the state government has minimal shareholding. I went to the airport to receive the President as I have always done even when he was here to campaign against me. The President of the Federal Republic is the President of every one and he deserves the respect of every one including state governors.

I am convinced about this and that is why each time he has had cause to visit Edo, I have never hesitated to accord all courtesy including to mobilize people to the airport. That day I did same. I encouraged the APC Chairman in the state, the Chief of Staff, the SSG and a number of commissioners. I actually asked our Women Wing to mobilize women to the airport to give the President a rousing welcome. Because, to me, the fact that the President is of the PDP and the governor is APC is not important.

What is important is that we are all stewards to the Nigerian project and I expect that the way I respect the President, despite the fact that he was elected under the platform of the PDP, PDP elements in Edo ought to respect me as the governor of this state irrespective of the fact that we don’t belong to the same political party. However, I recognize that they have a right to choose not to. I also insist that their failure to do so cannot be a reason for me to copy what does not work. So I went to the airport and, to my surprise, a pastor turned politician had mobilized people.

I have been to that airport to receive the President with Dan Orbih (PDP Chairman), Chief Anenih and several other PDP leaders and there was no incident. In fact, the last time the President came, Chief Anenih was cracking joke with me. He even put a PDP cap on my head and I quietly put APC cap on top of the PDP cap. And he asked me why I was doing that. ‘I said, ‘Leader, you know in this state PDP is under the APC’. And we all joked and laughed about it. And that is how it should be. So what has changed, why is it that we are no longer able to conduct ourselves in a civilized manner?

The only thing that has changed is that there is somebody who has been a perpetual gubernatorial aspirant and he believes that if he does not get it, the state must go under. He mobilized those people and they were shouting my name, Oshiomhole ole! (thief). And I went to the pastor and greeted him. I had to call him pastor because he insisted he is a pastor. Some of the APC youths around me were angry as they were singing Oshiomhole ole, and wanted to react. But I said no, the purpose of this is all clear to me. The pastor wanted to create a scene at the airport.

I had a duty as governor to ensure that the President arrived to meet cheering faces.. Not to allow police to throw tear gas dispersing people fighting. So if there was an incident at the airport, it will be seen as my own failure. I told our people that they should leave them alone, let them call me any thing they liked. They can call me Oshiomhole He-goat, it will not change the truth. And happily they listened. I told them people have crisis of identity, they want to be governor by all means, they are struggling to be what God has already given me. If he is desperate I am not.

How we informed Edo police on the plot to attack Assembly quarters/ bomb attack on Ize-Iyamu wife’s clinic

That was how we managed that incident at the airport and, in fairness, I exchanged pleasantries with Dan Orbih and several PDP leaders, there was no problem. The President came and I had about 25 minutes conversation with him inside the plane, where we shared concerns about security issues and he left. Later that night, a meeting was (allegedly) held between this pastor and some youths where they decided to go and attack the legislative quarters and possibly kill at least two of the members.

When we received this information, the Commissioner of Police was duly informed about 10:30pm that Friday; these people have mobilized to attack the House of Assembly and we called the CP to provide full security. We even told the CP where they were going to assemble because we had the intelligence that they were going to assemble at George Idah Primary school. Again, the CP was informed. They took off from the primary school, they went to the quarters with AK47, pump action guns and other offensive weapons. The amount of bullets they expended on the doors, windows and cars of our lawmakers was baffling.

They operated for almost 30minutes and left. Even the minimal presence of the police that is usually at the quarters left in order to allow the people have a free reign of terror. I went to the place and I was shocked at the level of violence that I saw. In a civilized society, a country that is governed by rule of law, official quarters of the House of Assembly came under attack by criminals and none of them was arrested. I said to them we will bring up some of these facts to the attention of Mr President and the IG. But because we are the ones in government, we must bear the burden of peace.

So today in Edo, we have chased the PDP out of power not by the force of fire arms but by the votes of out people who are unanimous that they will never again be governed by a bunch of people whose only purpose in government is selfish. Some desperate elements have chosen to resort to the use of fire arms and to create maximum destruction hoping in the process that they will distract me from focusing on governance.

However, I believe Nigerians were unanimous in the condemnation of this violence by the PDP. I have since submitted a petition to the IG supported with some evidence. And it is very clear that the police at the highest level is very embarrassed by this violent act. Therefore the PDP has to find a away to divert attention and give the impression that there was a counter attack. I was in Abuja the previous week, when some body told me that one Mr Erewele was on TV saying I ordered thugs to vandalize his vehicles.

I said ‘who is Erewele?’ I know he exists, but what is the value of a man who cannot and who has never delivered his polling booth to ACN or APC? We have never won election in his ward. I was then happy to offload this liability to the PDP. Erewele has no political value, but once any body wants to draw attention to himself, he will say Comrade said he should be attacked. I have records either as a steward in the NLC or since I assumed office as governor of this state, I have never asked anybody to beat somebody.

The election that renewed my mandate, not one gun was fired anywhere. So what are my stakes now, what am I looking for? But you also know that before my assumption of office as governor of this state, every election was characterised by violence. Indeed in 2007, they killed three young men at Oba Primary School. And I am proud to state that since we chased them out and I assumed office, we have witnessed no violence in this state. So they are trying to create confusion and divert public attention.

Once Erewele was done, the next thing I heard was that Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s clinic was attacked with bomb. I called the police and the SSS to brief me on their findings, and they told a device was laid out into the gate house of the clinic. Now the question is, who is responsible for this? Ize-Iyamu was quick to make a libellous statement that I was responsible for the attack on his wife’s clinic and that we are after his life. The simple question is, does it mean we don’t know where he lives, does he live in the gate house of his wife’s clinic?

If there are people who want to assassinate Ize-Iyamu, will they leave his house and go to the gate house of the wife’s clinic that is located several kilometres away from his wife’s residence? However, if the idea was to destroy his property, Iyamu has more then fifteen houses in Benin City. So is the destruction of a gate house meant to inflict damage on property, what sense does it make? I am told that there were three people in the house including the gate man.

Where was the gateman when the gate house came under bomb attack. The CP told me that the gate man was having his bath. I now asked where other occupants of the house were at the time of the bombing. So I want the public to look at all these posers and find out whether the story of bombing as told by Ize-Iyamu made sense.

Am happy to offload them

And if anyone was to be a problem, we have fought political battles in this state. My dear friend and brother, Dan Orbih, no matter what you want to say, no body has abused or attacked me more than he has done. Because once they cannot dispute my performance they will attack my person. There is nothing they have not done trying to attack my person. But let me ask, have we thrown knockout in the residence of Chief Anenih, Dan Orbih or any PDP leader?

So why Ize-Iyamu, what is the relevance of a frustrated man? A migrant politician, can he really be my headache? If the authentic owners of the party are not my headache, why will a migrant become my headache so much that I will waste my time planning to attack a gate house of his wife’s clinic? So I need you to understand that there are people who are so desperate that they think they can mislead Nigerians that Comrade is a violent man. I have a duty to protect the lives and property of the people of this state including my political opponents.

How plot to ground Edo failed

But let me assure the people of Edo that there is no cause for alarm. It is true that some people plotted, believing that they can impeach me and short circuit the political process. They voted huge sums of money to procure lawmakers. They were on the verge of procuring more hoping that they will gain at least 13 and if they have 13 out of 24, then they would have simple majority. With simple majority they cannot impeach but with simple majority they will block the budget. And once they block the budget, they would have paralysed government. And the calculation was clear, for these forces of darkness to have an inch towards Osadebey Avenue, they need to create maximum distraction.

How will they win election without record of performance? So they reasoned that if they block the budget, by February, when we will be going for the next election, Edo State government would have been grounded because I would not have a budget to work with. And once we no longer can work, people will begin to ask questions. Now this plan has been aborted. As you know, we are today on record as the first state government to pass the Appropriation Act for 2015. And the benchmark which the Federal Government is working on as published is the benchmark that we had assumed for formulating this budget.

Every toll gate they created God has taken us over it. And this explains the deepening frustration and the resort to violence believing that if they make the state ungovernable, then one thing might lead to another. But I want to assure that I will remain focused on my primary mandate which is to provide good governance in our state, to harness our resources and manage them in such a way as to continue to deliver on development agenda. Many state governments have been defaulting in the payment of salaries but, in Edo, I am proud to say that we are up to date in the payment of salaries.

And now that the dry season is here, our tractors will return to work, things are tough but we need tough men when things gets tough. So I assure you that we will remain focused on our job, our selling point is performance and we will not deviate from that. When the campaigns start, we will return to the politics of eye mark. Show me what you did in ten years and I will show you what I did in six years. And Edo people will decide.