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Caution against misleading report
By Sunday Ani
The elected local government chairmen in Edo State have debunked Governor Monday Okpebholo’s claim that the council chairmen have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
They described the event where some councillors were received as acting chairmen as a ploy to mislead the President into believing that the council chairmen have defected to the APC in support of his 2027 presidential bid.
A statement by the Forum of Edo State Local Government Councils Chief Press Secretaries described the move as a desperate desire of the Governor to seek cheap relevance and undue sympathy to induce influence in the final tribunal judgement.
The council chairmen described the Governor’s speech at the gathering as empty, saying he has failed to find a lasting solution to the infrastructure, security, and economic challenges that are obvious across all local government councils in the state.
“We wish to inform the public that those who defected were Councillors without political relevance to deliver their wards. No duly elected local government council chairman defected or was present in the gathering. Elected Chairmen wish to distance themselves from the charade and called on the Nigerian media to stop misleading the public with headlines that don’t represent the reality,” the statement read.
Speaking on behalf of the elected council chairmen, the Chairman of the Association of Edo State Forum of Chief Press Secretaries in the 18 local government councils, Mr Benjamin Atu, frowned at the misleading statements by the Governor, saying, “If those who the Governor received are the people he depends on to consolidate his hold on the polity of the state and to deliver Tinubu in 2027, then his hope is a mirage and dead on arrival.
“Local government councils have been thrown into darkness and under-development without leadership and without direction since the Governor forced the elected chairmen out of office, using political thugs and security agents, over three months ago.”
The council chairmen lamented that the state’s resources that were wasted to gather and bribe Councillors would have been sufficient to mobilise security agents and grassroots vigilance groups to checkmate the ravaging insecurity across the state, particularly in Edo North.
They maintained that the Governor has the opportunity of redeeming his image by restoring the elected council chairmen but has decided to be a victim of his own gospel. “The meeting with the factional Councillors is meant to deepen the hardship across the councils,” they said, “advising the Governor to respect the rule of law from the Supreme Court judgement to Edo High Court judgement on the status of local government chairmen in Nigeria.”