The deputy governor of Edo State, Phillip Shaibu, and speaker of the state House of Assembly, Frank Okiye, have vowed to keep vigil at the Assembly Complex to forestall the alleged illegal invasion of the complex by the All Progressives Congress (APC) members-elect.
There had been allegations by Edo Government House sources earlier in the day that the APC and its former national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, had mobilised Federal Police from Abuja to replace the officers from the Edo State Police Command stationed at the Anthony Enahoro Complex of the Edo State House of Assembly.
The move, it was alleged, was preparatory to plots to take over the Assembly Complex, which is undergoing reconstruction, with a view to illegally inaugurate 14 dissident members-elect whose seats have long been declared vacant, so as to take control of the Assembly.
But Deputy Governor Shaibu, who spoke at the Assembly Complex Thursday afternoon, said the state government would not allow the members to take over the House as they were yet to be constitutionally inaugurated.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow enemies of democracy to turn the state to a banana republic.
Meanwhile, the main entrance and exit gates of the Assembly have been barricaded with sand and gravel.
The gravel status at the rooftop of the complex building has also been removed while workers carrying out renovation of the complex have started removing roofs as part of renovation activities.
The combined team of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Army and the Edo State security outfit code-named ‘WABAZIGAN’ have taken over the entrance and exit gates of the Assembly Complex.
The state chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Aziegbemi, has meanwhile described the alleged plan to take over the Assembly by force by the APC as a rape of democracy.
He also called on President Buhari to uphold the tenets and principles of separation of power for good governance.
According to him, “We are watching history being made. We are watching a failed attempt to truncate democracy in Edo State. We all know that without the legislature we cannot have democracy.
“So, an attempt to truncate this most important arm of government in a democracy is a treasonable offence.
“We called on the Federal Government to take charge of this situation. You can see all the people here, nobody asked them to come. They came on their own because they felt that the leadership of APC is trying to truncate democracy in Edo State.
“We are going to make sure that it doesn’t happen. It will not happen in Edo State. We are much more than this and it is now clear to everybody. We will never allow this to happen in Edo State.”
