The recent outburst by the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, restricting the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, from entering the state without his approval has continued to attract condemnation from Nigerians.
The latest is coming from the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party.
In an interview with DAILY POST, the Labour Party chairman in the state, Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi, dismissed claims by the governor that Obi’s recent visit to the state caused unrest that led to the death of three persons.
He stated that any violence or death recently recorded in the state should be attributed to the “court war” going on in Edo.
According to him, there was no record of any violence or stampede when the party’s former presidential candidate visited.
“I’m not aware of any incident of people dying in Edo State. If anyone had died because of Obi’s visit, we would all know.
“And the truth is that if anyone actually died out of violence recently, it is because of the court war they are running in Edo State,” he said.
“Many of them in the government are people of such character, so whatever happened cannot be attributed to Obi’s visit,” the LP chairman further said.
Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi also told DAILY POST in a telephone interview that the governor lacks the power to restrict Peter Obi’s movement, stressing that Governor Okpebholo’s warning was contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
According to him, if the governor was only bothered about protocol, he would have relayed his concerns respectfully.
Recalls that Governor Okpebholo on Friday last week barred the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election from visiting the state without approval, declaring that Obi’s security may not be guaranteed if he does otherwise.
The governor claimed that Obi’s visit to St. Philomena Hospital School of Nursing Sciences on June 7, where he donated N15 million for the completion of projects in the school, triggered the resurgence of violence, which, according to him, led to the death of at least three persons.
