By Ozioruva Aliu – Benin City

The Edo State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu and Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Senior Special Assistant on Security, Yusuf Haruna, on Tuesday, engaged in a war of words over alleged moves by Shaibu to plan an attack on his convoy and lay the blame on the APC.

Addressing a press conference, Acting Chairman of the APC, Col David Imuse (retd) said there is credible information that Obaseki is aware that he would not win the election and has decided not to play the game by the rules.

He said: “In a shocking revelation, it has been shown that the Edo State Government, in connivance with a retired police officer from Kogi State, who has been identified in series of violence plots in Edo State and beyond, is plotting to stage an attack on their own convoy.

“Specifically, an attack on the convoy of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu, in a bid to draw sympathy, pose as victims and set the stage for a new wave of the violent onslaught on the people of Edo State, some of whom have fallen victims to the reckless shootings of the governor’s army of thugs and criminals.

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“According to reports available to us, the mastermind of this disgraceful strategy has already recruited armed thugs for the mission with careful instruction to do enough damage on cars and other disposable items for the media drama that will follow.

“The plan is by upstaging this violent act, they can mischievously and falsely allege that it is the doings of the APC carried out to foil their ‘booming and flourishing campaign’ when in truth, their campaign has collapsed.

“They are met with rejection in all communities and wards of Edo State because their late-hour candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, a failed incumbent whose only achievement in the office is MOUs, which already have been aptly translated by our people as Memorandums of Underdevelopment.

“They have to resort to staging attacks on their own convoy as a way to elicit pity and bring attention to their empty campaign reveals the deep hollowness of the PDP as a party that has run out of fresh and new ideas, hence resorting to desperate measures to disrupt the peaceful conduct of an election it is convinced beyond all doubts that it has no chance of winning.”

But Haruna in a statement denied the allegation saying “I am not a thug and I don’t know thugs. You should ask Imuse to prove his case beyond doubt.

“People should not just make political statements and go to their houses and sleep. I don’t know what he is talking about and in fact, it does not make any sense. Maybe he has just taken a bottle of ogogoro  and he doesn’t know what he is talking about.”

On his part, reacting to Edo APC allegation, Shaibu through his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Benjamin Atu, described the allegation as “witchcraft”.

He said: “I am not writing to debunk what doesn’t exist. Nothing to be debunked because you can’t put something on nothing.

“We are strangers to this issue and have no idea where this came from. They seem to forget that truth like cork cannot sink. It can’t be sunk. Lies must eventually collapse face to face with facts.”

Vanguard