Mr. David Imuse, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a State of Emergency in the state, citing Governor Godwin Obaseki’s alleged failure to govern.
The decision is based on the fact that Obaseki prefers to be a Sole Administrator of the State rather than a democratically elected Governor, according to Imuse, who made the announcement on Thursday.
He accused Obaseki of dictatorship, accusing him of emasculating the judiciary, crippling the legislature, and personalizing the executive branch, effectively acting as the state’s sole administrator.
“He is the legislator, the judge, and the prison all rolled into one,” Col Imuse says. Edo is currently Nigeria’s only state without a functioning legislature. What’s going on with the ten PDP knuckleheads who gather at Governor Obaseki’s office on a regular basis is hilarious.
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“What Obaseki is doing today in Edo is breaking a democratic taboo.” When a taboo is allowed to exist for an extended period of time, it becomes a tradition. If this taboo is allowed to be exported to other countries, using Obaseki as a model, our democratic culture will be jeopardized. Edo is in a bad situation.”
“With the governor’s decision not to hold elections for Chairmen and Councilors, Edo state’s local government administration has been in a coma for almost a year.
“Is it not self-indictment for a Governor who daily interfered with the State’s local government council’s statutory allocations to say that he cannot conduct LG elections unless he can clear the N60 billion debt they owe?”
“As I speak, Mr. Obaseki is demolishing the Central Hospital in Benin City in preparation for the construction of a motor park.” The government claimed two months ago (in October) that it had no plans for such demolition, but if you go to Sapele Road near the hospital right now, you will see what I mean. We are aware that demolition is imminent, and we urge Mr. Obaseki to halt it or face the consequences.”
Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has demanded that the APC-led federal government be held responsible for the state of emergency declared by the Edo APC.
Barr. Andrew Emwanta, the State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, stated this Thursday in a statement in response to the APC.
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According to the statement, the APC’s demand for a State of Emergency is not only a slap in the face of Nigerians, but also a sign of selective amnesia.
The Edo APC Chairman went on to say that Obaseki’s egregious abuse of power is not addressed in the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The “Constitution that our country, Nigeria, is still operating remains the grundnorm,” he claims. So, we’re not sure where Mr. Obaseki gets his powers from, because there’s no provision in the Edo Constitution for a Maximum Ruler or Sole Administrator, as there is in Edo.
