Govs Oshiomole, Okowa clash over thugs for Edo guber

The governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has responded to allegations made against him by his Edo State counterpart, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, that he is recruiting thugs to undermine the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.

Okowa, who reacted through his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, said Oshiomhole’s allegation was baseless and an indication that the All Progressives Congress, APC- led government in Edo State has lost confidence to woo voters based on it track record of achievements.

Oshiomhole drew the first blood when he accused Okowa of planning to disrupt the election in the state by recruiting thugs.

The statement by the Edo State government reads in part: “It has come to our knowledge that following the commencement of the Continuous Voters Registration exercise in Edo state preparatory to the September 10 gubernatorial election in the state, the Peoples’ Democratic Party in connivance with the Delta state Government, has started recruiting thugs and hooligans from Delta State to register as voters in communities sharing border with Edo state.

“We had earlier taken the information with levity when we received it a few days ago, but we now have it on good authority that indeed the PDP Governor of Delta state, His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is involved in this sinister move to send political thugs to the fringe villages between the two states to fraudulently register as eligible voters with the intention to use them to cause untold mayhem before and during the elections, on September 10th.”

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However, responding to Oshiomhole’s accusation, Okowa said it was preposterous for the Edo State Government to expect that Deltans would leave their constituencies and embark on a wild goose chase of registering to vote in Edo State.

Okowa also said Edo State Government has also betrayed its ignorance of the workings of the Permanent Voter Card, which makes multiple registration impossible and asked the APC in the state to restrict itself to issues rather than resort to name- calling.

The statement reads in part: “Governor Okowa is too refined to engage in such clandestine activities to the extent of decimating his own support base by encouraging his constituents to register in another state. What becomes the fate of Delta political stakeholders who would rely on the votes of those people in subsequent elections?

“This is laughable and is gradually becoming a character of the APC in Edo State to believe that it can scare opponents through smear campaign. Governor Okowa declared publicly that he would support the PDP candidate both morally and logistically to win the September 10, 2016 governorship election in Edo State and no amount of brow beating would stop him.”

The statement further said,“Oshiomhole boasted that he could win election against Okowa in Delta State. Why is the Edo State APC getting fidgety for a mere declaration of support to the PDP candidate by Okowa?”

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