IGP reverses order, suspends APC rally in Edo

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu, on Thursday ordered the suspension of All Progressive Congress (APC), rally scheduled for Benin, Friday.

The IGP had earlier granted permission to the APC Edo State chapter to hold its mega rally to receive Ize-Iyamu over 30,000 PDP members into the state.

However, Governor Obaseki had said that he was not aware of any APC rally in the state.

The rally was slated to be used to welcome former gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and followers back to the ruling party.

The decision to suspend the rally was conveyed to reporters on Thursday by the deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, at a press conference in Abuja.

He revealed that the IGP has communicated the new order to him in a letter.

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Shaibu said the police boss’ decision followed what he (deputy governor) told him concerning the fragile security situation on the ground under which safety could not be guaranteed.

The deputy governor noted that the planned rally was a mere smokescreen to disrupt public peace.

He said he got the letter suspending the rally at about 5 pm at the Police Headquarters in Abuja.

According to him, it was heartbreaking that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, was leading the campaign to create division within the party.

Referring to the party boss as his father, Shaibu alleged that “the man leading the division in the state, unfortunately, is the national Chairman of the APC, a man I call my father,” noting that he would join issues with Oshiomhole.

But he recalled that during his tenure as governor, Oshiomhole never tolerated what he was currently doing as he resisted a similar attempt by the immediate past APC national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.

Shuiabu maintained that the governor, Godwin Obaseki, as the party leader was the only one authorized to organized a rally according to the constitution.

When asked to react to the IGP’s permission granted to the APC Edo State to hold its mega rally, Shaibu said: “well having seen that, I had to write as the chief security officer of the state to let him know the situation in a Edo State and to also inform him in line with the party constitution, the governor is the leader of the party. And if the governor that is the leader of the party and the party that he leads wants to do a rally in his own state and he has not authorized it and he is not aware, such rally cannot take. “Also to inform him that that national chairman suspended from the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, does not have the locus to preside even on issue that concerns APC as we speak.

“So, the man that must give voice to whatever in APC in terms of governance enshrined in the Constitution is the leader of the party in the state, that is the governor. So I have the letter, the IG has responded to me that based on security situation that I have highlighted, that he has directed the commissioner of police to put all security in place to suspend that planned rally by these people.”