By Simon Ebegbulem
BENIN—THE political tension in Edo State, heightened, yesterday, when hundreds of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, youths stormed the palace of the Oba of Benin and the secretariat of the party, to protest what they described as a “scheme to hoodwink” Governor Adams Oshiomhole to endorse some National Assembly members, who recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ACN.

But the chairman of the party in the state, Prince Tony Omoaghe,who described the allegation as  nonsense, when he received leaders of the party from Ikpoba-Okha and Egor Local Government Areas, including the Chairman of Egor council and House of Representatives aspirant, Mr Crosby Eribo, assured that the party would conduct free and fair primaries. He  warned against heating up the polity and making malicious allegations against some party leaders in the state.

This is coming just as leaders of the ACN in Egor and Ikpoba Okha councils, including the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Paul Ohonbanmu, threw their weight behind Mr Eribo, whose aspiration to the House of Representatives, they said was a good omen for the constituency, considering his achievements in the council and  doggedness in pursuit of justice and truth in the politics of the state.

The youths under the umbrella of the Concerned Friends of ACN, in a  statement by Aghasagbon Johnson and Rich Enabulele, said that the Senator Ehigie Uzamere, Samson Osagie and Patrick Obahiagbon, should leave the party and allow old members to run for elections. But Vanguard, however, learnt that the protests may have been sponsored by some aspirants in the party,  who felt threatened with the emergence of these people in the race.

Governor Oshiomhole, in his reaction, had said,  when he received Senator Uzamere into the party last week,  that “everybody came from some where to the ACN.”

Some came from PDP, ANPP, Labour and other parties. So in ACN , there is no landlord and tenant. All I am saying is that there will be free and fair primaries and all aspirants should go and win the heart of the electorate.

“There must be no discrimination. Every body must be treated equally and that is why the ACN is better than other parties. When I talk about one man one vote, it is going to be applied totally and no body should make any mistake about that” he stated.