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June 8, 2024
Akpata
Olumide Akpata
BENIN CITY – THE candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata and the state government on Friday engaged in a war of words over an allegation by Akpata and his campaign organization that people believed to be agents of government were pulling down his billboards in strategic places in Benin City, the Edo state capital.
But a statement by the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare described the allegation as false and urged Akpata to liaise with the owners of the billboards and the regulatory authorities to know if there were unsettled bills.
Addressing a press conference in Benin City, Akpata warned of a looming anarchy ahead of the September 21st governorship election if the destruction continued as he claimed that no reason had been adduced for the destruction.
He said “Over the past few days, we have witnessed a coordinated, premeditated, and insidious assault on our constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech, political expression, and the fundamental tenets of democracy itself. Billboards that I, as a law-abiding citizen and a gubernatorial candidate, legally paid for and erected across the length and breadth of Benin City have come under attack from the Local Government Areas, who are agents of the incumbent governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki.
“In Oredo Local Government Area, two of my billboards were viciously vandalised, defaced, and ultimately torn down, with explicit threats of more removals to come. The situation is equally dire and unacceptable in Ovia North East, where two more billboards bearing my visage and campaign messages were mindlessly destroyed by these merchants of antidemocratic forces. In Ikpoba Okha, my campaign team has received unambiguous threats that our billboards in that area will also be targeted for elimination.
