By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City



The Ize Iyamu    National Campaign Council on Communications and Publicity for the Edo Governorship elections, has berated Governor Godwin Obaseki, for  harassing members of the APC serving in elected offices over their refusal to join him in the PDP 

The vice- chairman of the committee, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, stated this in Benin City,  while addressing news men 

Obahiagbon criticized the actions of the Governor as undemocratic, Machiavellian, and deprecable intolerance that must be rejected by all.
 
He said: "the brazen resort to strong-arm stratagems, unbridled intimidation and macabre bludgeoning of APC members elected into various government positions simply because they have refused to decamp to the PDP along with the Governor verges on depreciable intolerance. It's unacceptable to us and we call on all progressive democratic forces to condemn this anti-democratic acts oozing from the seat of government, in the strongest of terms."
 
"A situation where our faithful party elected officials have been suspended from their offices and in some cases, their salaries withdrawn and at other times, forced out of office is not only anti-democratic and Machiavellian but also palpably displays a resort to brute force which must be robustly repudiated by a coalition of progressive forces."
 
"We commend our teeming loyal APC party members in this government who have voluntarily turned in their letters of resignation rather than betraying their unalloyed commitment to the fine ideals of our great party".
 
Hon. Obahiagbon assured the party members that their avowed determination and support to ensure the victory of the APC and its governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, at the polls in September will not be in vain.
 
"Let all party members be reassured that their avowed determination to agglutinate with the APC and its governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has been copiously noted by our party and its Governorship candidate. The Governorship candidate of APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is full of encomiums for them and all party members daily making sacrifices and has assured them that their efforts will not be in vain."lection and this should be done in line with the guideline as released by NCDC for the election.

“Candidates should jettison the idea of gathering people in a place for the campaign. They should reinvent new and noble ways of passing their programme to the people.”

He also cautioned youths against being used as thugs during the election.

“As we approach another off-circle election in Edo state it is my considered view and it should be seen as such that the will of the electorate in the state prevail and for the youths, they should rise above the perennial problem of being used as political thugs to disturb the electoral process,” he added.



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