The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council in Edo State on Wednesday urged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to subject party candidates in the September 16 poll in the state to compulsory drug tests.
The council’s Director of Media, Kassim Afegbua, made the call in a statement in Benin City.
He said the candidates need to present themselves for a serious drug test to ascertain their level of sanity.
Afegbua urged the NDLEA to zero in on all candidates of the frontline political parties to ascertain their sanity.
At least 16 parties are fielding candidates in the election, with the APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival, Asue Ighodalo, regarded by many as favourites to win the poll.
He said: “We have been reliably informed that some of them are alleged to be heavy consumers of banned substances, including alcohol.
“A test for all of them will unveil their level of sanity.
“Edo State is too decent to have a governor who will bring shame to the people.
“Anyone who wants to govern Edo State should not be a heavy consumer of marijuana.
“This is a banned substance, and we expect the NDLEA to verify and conduct tests on the major candidates.
“Our candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo is prepared to submit himself to any test any time he’s called upon.
“We expect similar assurances from the other candidates to ascertain their level of sanity
“It will be a big shame for residents of other states to drag our people in the mud for mistakenly voting for a candidate whose state of mind cannot be guaranteed.
“That is a big risk Edo people cannot gamble with. We are doing this to save our state, and we hope that the NDLEA will quickly swing into action and do the needful.”
Afegbua said the council would continue to mount pressure on the agency to yield the call.
“We must unearth any padded candidate who pretends to be a saint during the day but a notorious gangster at night.
“With the insecurity, unemployment, decayed infrastructure, poor healthcare, lack of potable water, and failed education in Edo State, the people deserve a governor with a sane mind to lead us into prosperity,” the spokesman added.
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