The takeover of the Edo State House of Assembly complex by security operatives has sparked an exchange of blame between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). While the PDP blamed the opposition party in the state for the incident, the APC denied the allegation that it brought police personnel from Abuja to block the Assembly complex.
In a statement on Thursday, Chairman of the APC Media Campaign Council in Edo, John Mayaki, explained that as a political party, the APC does not control the police. He, however, accused the Edo State government of carrying out several onslaughts against the constitutional independence of the legislative arm of government by attacking its members-elect and denying them representation.
Mayaki alleged that the governor was responsible for a number of sieges on the Assembly complex, adding that he was in the best position to explain who sponsored the blockade of the Assembly.
“It is a known fact that the outgoing governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has treated the House of Assembly, an independent and co-equal branch of government, as a mere extension of his office through the brutalisation of members-elect and the denial of representation to the majority of members,” he claimed.
