NDC senatorial candidate expresses concerns over alleged intimidation of opposition parties in Edo

Edo Central senatorial candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) John Yakubu

Edo Central senatorial candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) John Yakubu has accused Edo State officials and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of intimidating opposition parties in the state.

“What is happening in Edo State today is such that it’s been designed by the government in power to intimidate every person,” Mr Yakubu said.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Show on Tuesday, the politician said opposition parties’ billboards are being targeted for destruction and removal from public spaces in the state.

“During the broad daylight, billboards are being constantly removed by officials of government and local councils without a record of due process.

“And one particular embarrassing situation is that a two-faced billboard carried that of the APC and that of the opposition party. You see, they climbed up, removed that of the opposition party, and allowed that of the APC to remain intact.”

Besides the advertisement constrictions, he said, opposition parties find it difficult to secure venues for party meetings in the state.

Mr John described the situation as annoying and embarrassing, saying that it runs counter to the spirit of a democratic state.

He stressed that Nigeria practises a multi-party democracy and others should be allowed to campaign freely.

“We are beginning to see that there is a political esprit de corps, a diabolical esprit de corps, which people might constantly refer to as satanic,” he said.

Mr Yakubu appealed to the public, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo and stakeholders to lend their voice against the intimidation of NDC in the state.

“We are appealing to the entire nation to come to the rescue of Edo State politicians who are not of the APC’s extraction.”

“I want to appeal to the governor of Edo State. He was in opposition when he won his election to represent Edo Central Senatorial District on the floor of the Red Chamber. He should allow such an atmosphere to exist,” the senatorial candidate said,

He noted that despite petitions to the Edo State police, nothing has been done. He went further, accusing the Edo State Police Command of siding with the ruling party.

He said NDC’s petition to the Inspector General of Police is awaiting his intervention.

This is not the first time an opposition figure in Edo State has cried out over alleged intimidation by state officials and ruling and the ruling party’s enforcers.

The situation has worsened as the 2027 general elections draw closer.

Earlier on Monday, Edo State chapters of the NDC and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) raised the alarm over intimidation and violence allegedly orchestrated by the APC in the state.

Last month, the ADC cited a threat by the Edo State APC Chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, declaring “AK-47 fire” against anyone who stood in the way of the party’s plan to secure 2.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

While NDC called for an investigation into the threat, it said it would remain resolute in its quest and campaign for the 2027 general elections.

But the APC has always denied the allegations.

Governor Monday Okpebholo, who controversially declared publicly in July last year that NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi must obtain his clearance to visit Edo State, has also denied through his aides the allegations of intimidating opposition parties in the state.

In an interview with AIT on 30 October, Jonh Mayaki, a party official identified as the director of media of the Edo APC campaign council, said the party had no time to destroy opposition parties’ billboards.

“Will the party sit down and have the policy of destruction of billboards because it will earn us votes? It doesn’t make sense to anybody,” Mr Mayaki said.

He also said the party chairman in the state did not call on members to arm themselves with AK-47 but with the “armour of God.”

With the 2027 general elections fast approaching and campaigns intensifying, the atmosphere is becoming charged with divisive and inflammatory political rhetorics.

In August, rominent Islamic cleric Sani Jingir controversially described Nigeria as a Muslim-majority country and called for mass support for the ruling APC’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027 while condemning anyone who opposed it.

Amid the wave of backlash triggered by the comment, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) called for Mr Jingir’s arrest for inciting religious hatred and hate speech. In the same month, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Danjuma Shekwolo, was seen in a video asking residents to either vote for the APC or leave the council areas.

NHRC said on Monday that political campaigns for the 2027 general elections have been marked by controversial remarks from public figures, discouraging a level playing field in the lead-up to the elections, whose first round takes place in January.