By Esho Ayemoba
The Edo State Government has said it’s attention has been drawn to yet another reckless, misleading and malicious statement credited to the Edo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), signed by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Osa Nehikhare.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpbholo, Mr. Fred Itua, while debunking PDP’s imaginary claims, in a said statement on Monday, said the PDP has once again relapsed into peddling baseless claims orchestrated to mislead the public on matters it clearly does not understand or deliberately chooses to misrepresent.
Itua, said: “Let it be clearly stated that the statement is a shameful display of the PDP’s consistent obsession with fabricating lies against the person of Governor Monday Okpebholo and the progressive administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State. These repeated outbursts are the product of a party drowning in irrelevance and struggling desperately to remain in public discourse.
“It is hypocritical for the same PDP that has consistently desecrated the rule of law through executive impunity and abuse of office to now quote the Electoral Act in a dishonest attempt to score cheap political points. The Edo PDP is in no moral position to lecture anyone on constitutional order or democratic values.
“Their tenure in power was defined by deceit, maladministration, and a relentless assault on truth and transparency.
” Let it also be noted that at the appropriate time, the PDP and its officials, including Chris Nehikhare, will be held accountable for the spurious allegations they have repeatedly made against Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State and other public officials.”
Enough is enough, he said, adding thst these unfounded and unsubstantiated claims have no bearing on the truth, and they constitute a deliberate effort to mislead the public, disrupt governance, and cause disaffection in the State.
While Governor Monday Okpebholo has, in good faith and in his respect for the rule of law, allowed these provocations to slide, the Government will no longer tolerate this campaign of calumny, he said.
“If Chris Nehikhare and other PDP leaders do not desist from peddling falsehoods and deliberately seeking to undermine the peace and progress of Edo State, they will be compelled—at the right time and before the appropriate legal authorities—to provide evidence for every wild claim they have made.” He said.
The PDP according to him, has turned political discourse into a theatre of lies and bitterness, stressing that their refusal to abide by the rules of engagement in a democratic society is shameful.
They have, in several clandestine meetings, resolved to destabilize Edo State through misinformation and character assassination. But the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo will not be distracted. The Governor remains focused on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Edo State, the CPS, said.
Edo belongs to all of us, and no amount of bitterness or false propaganda will derail the will of the people or slow down the pace of development, Itua, explained.
