Edo Voters Coalition Group Alerts IGP on Plot to Disrupt State Assembly Election

The National Coalition of Edo Voters (NCEV) has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to urgently investigate and forestall an alleged sinister plot by some political actors to disrupt the forthcoming Edo State House of Assembly (ESHA) elections slated for March 18, 2023.

In an open letter to IGP Usman Alkali Baba, by the national coordinator of NCEV, Matthew Eghosa, fingered the troika of former Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; former Edo State PDP Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih and Hon. Ogbeide Ihama, as the architects of the plan.

The letter reads, inter alia;

1. I begin by commending you for the adequate preparation of the Nigerian Police Force for a violence free election as witnessed in Edo in the just concluded February 25th general elections. I also want to use this opportunity to commend our service men and women for ensuring the protection of lives and property in Nigerian. No matter the reservation anyone has for the Nigerian Police Force, I make bold to say that without you and your officers on ground, lives will be ‘nasty, brutish and short’ in the words of Thomas Hobbs.
2. It is with great panic that it has come to our notice, that three notable politicians from Edo state has gone into an unholy alliance to carry out some calculated measure of violence, disruption and intimidation of voters in the forthcoming House of Assembly elections proposed to hold on the 18th of March 2023.
3. While it is common knowledge that there has been a running battle for the control of the soul of the Edo State House of Assembly between the ruling party and the opposition. We wish to state clearly, that Edo people will not be used as cannon fodder in this ensuing battle as we come out peacefully to vote in the forthcoming election.
4. We have it on good authority that Comr. Adams Oshiomhole, in close collaboration with Chief Dan Orbih and the member representing Oredo Federal constituency, Hon. Ogbeide Ihama have collectively engaged on a mission, to mobilize and deploy violence that will enable them distort the outcomes of the forthcoming election to suit their parochial interest and that of their cronies on the ballot.
5. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. When good citizens see something, they say something. It is to this end that we urge you to invite these individuals for keen investigation and questioning. As ‘heart beat’ of the nation, recent events and other past similar ones have shown clearly that an average Edo man is quick to reply violence for violence. To avoid the total breakdown of law and order; you must act now.
6. Please be assured of our highest regards. It is our humble expectation that this point of observation is treated as top priority.

Note: This story may be updated to capture emergent developments.