The All Progressives Congress (APC) has pulled out of signing the Edo Election Peace Accord ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the state.
Parties to the accord including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party and there had converged to sign the accord when the APC announced during a press conference on Thursday.
The Chairman of the Presidential Peace Committee, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has been in the state to ensure all parties signed the accord and paid a courtesy visit to the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday.
He waited for the process to begin when the APC announced it would not participate in the signing.
The decision by the APC came barely 12 hours after Obaseki complained to Abubakar that PDP leaders in the state were being arrested and taken to undisclosed locations.
Obaseki said the PDP had lost faith in the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) alleging serious compromise in the electoral process.
However, addressing a press conference at the party secretariat, the state chairman of the APC, Emperor Jarret Tenebe said the party would not sign the accord after police had failed to arrest the killers of the orderly to the candidate of the party, Monday Okpebholo.
The orderly was killed along Airport Road.
He said the former Commissioner of Police, Funsho “told Nigerians that the command had the names of those who murdered Inspector Onuh Akor at the Benin airport.”
Tenebe said, “This failure of the police has emboldened the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his Peoples Democratic Party to attack members of our political party at rally grounds and in their private business premises ceaselessly.”
He claimed, “In the wake of this very worrisome and dangerous trend, Governor Obaseki kept mute and refused to condemn the attacks as the state’s Chief Security Officer. Instead, one Odion Olaye, the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress in Edo State, while in the company of Obaseki, openly threatened the country that, “Nigeria will burn if INEC fails to declare the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial election.”
He said, “The summary of these episodes is the unwillingness of Obaseki to embrace peace and the refusal of the security agencies to guarantee a peaceful environment for the conduct of the September 21st, 2024 scheduled election.”