Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State is being perceived by stakeholders in the state as moving to launch a political war against his opponent in the November 2020 governorship election in the state, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Governor Obaseki is suspected to be using state policy to confiscate the farmland of Pastor Ize-Iyamu.
The governor is being accused of various acts of political vendetta against his APC opponent at the polls with a recent announcement of the state government’s plot to seize Ize-Iyamu’s farmland in Amagba, Benin City.
The Media Director of Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organization, John Mayaki, protested that the state government is implementing the planned action in an official gazette published in the newspapers.
According to Mayaki: “There was no reason provided beyond a nebulous claim that the parcel of land, owned and developed by his political opponent for several years, is suddenly required “for the service of the government of Edo State.
“The move is an escalation of a trend witnessed since the Governor won re-election and secured victory in the court. Clearly irritated that others in the state dared to follow their conviction and form an opposition against him in the previous year, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has weaponized state agencies and institutions in a scorched earth campaign of political vendetta which has seen him target the businesses and properties of identified individuals, notably members and associates of the All Progressives Congress.
“He has demolished homes in violation of subsisting court orders, revoked duly issued certificates of occupancy on landed properties, shut down places of businesses, and charged the state-like Police formed by his administration to go after persons.
“All victims of this clear and outrageous government intimidation and repression share one thing in common: membership of the APC and opposition to the Governor’s brand of politics.”