BY OLUWAFEMI OLADIPO
Sounds of sporadic gunshots were heard on Tuesday around Etete road in the Government Reservation Area of Benin City, Edo State capital, the location of Golden Tulip Hotel, where some newly elected members of Edo State House of Assembly were allegedly planning the impeachment of the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
According to sources living around the areas, armed men in large number had besieged the popular hotel in search of some of the newly elected lawmakers alleged to be involved in the plot to unseat the governor.
Alltimepost.com gathered that when they could not find any of them, the armed men resorted to vandalizing the hotel.
An eye witness told our correspondent that for the period the incident lasted, customers of the hotel were seen scampering for safety and area residents bolted their doors and windows for safety.
Several attempts by Our correspondent who visited the hotel premises to speak with its manager failed as she declined comments. While the Edo State Police were no doubt in the picture, no official statement has so far emanated from the command headquarters in Benin.
When our correspondent visited the the State Police Command to confirm the incident at around 7:pm Nigerian time, the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Chidi Nwabuzor was not on seat and no other police officer was ready to speak officially on the incident.
Although the incident has not been officially confirmed, our correspondent gathered that some members of the newly elected Edo State House of Assembly, allegedly led by Honorable Tiger Edoror were in a meeting at that hotel.
While at the Police Command, our correspondent saw some of the newly elect members of the Assembly who are aggrieved that they were rigged out of the process of the 7th Assembly inauguration in Benin City yesterday, following Governor Obaseki’s proclamation.
It was also not possible to speak to Honorable Tiger Edoror, leader of a faction of the state Assembly on the unconfirmed report that he and some other newly elected members of the legislature were the ones at a meeting at the hotel with purpose, among others, of crafting a response to the opposing faction, who only yesterday inaugurated a new Assembly session without the knowledge of members of his (Edoror) faction.
What could not be ascertained as at the time our correspondent left the State Police Command, was whether Edoror and other Assembly members at the Command were there to give their statements on what transpired at the hotel at the invitation of the Police or were under arrest.
It is also not uncommon for the police to argue that the Honorable members were being kept at the Command for their own safety.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Edo State Chapter of the ruling-All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the actions of some members-elect under the platform of the party who are throwing tantrums over the emergence of the leadership of the newly-inaugurated 7th Edo State House of Assembly.
In a statement, the state chairman of the party, Mr. Anselm Ojezua, said the actions of the members-elect were a betrayal of the trust reposed in them by Edo people when they elected an APC-controlled House.
He called on the National Chairman of the Party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, whom he said should be aware of the issues, to call the members-elect to order, in the interest of the party in the state.
“The behaviour will not be tolerated. We are calling on the National Chairman who must have heard about their ignoble acts, to call them to order. What they have done is condemnable and will be handled with a firm hand. That is what we are going to do,” he noted.
Continuing, he said: “The behaviour of some of these members-elect is a cause for concern for the leadership of the state chapter of the APC. We are disappointed with their conduct and the way and manner they have carried themselves in the last couple of days. It is unbecoming of worthy representatives of the people.
“We condemn their conduct in its totality and their tantrum betrays party supremacy. This is why we are exploring sanctions against those found wanting in no distant time. In fact, their punishment is in fixed deposit.”
Ojezua said the members-elect ought to conduct themselves as honorable gentlemen and act as people with knowledge of the law when they have grievances, noting: “The process leading to the emergence of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Frank Okiye and his Deputy, Hon.
“Yekini Idiaye, was in line with the constitution. One will expect that people who ran for legislative office should know better to go to the court if they feel otherwise.”
Earlier, the Edo State Government had issued a stern warning to individuals and groups with intent to disrupt peace in the state by re-enacting the era of thuggery and civil disturbances to desist from any such actions, as the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration will not tolerate any form of violence in the state.
In a statement, Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Hon. Paul Ohonbamu, said that the state government will deploy all apparatus of state to ensure that peace is maintained in the state and that well-meaning, law-abiding citizens are assured a free space to go about their businesses without any hindrance.
He said the warning is coming in the wake of the emergence of a new leadership of the 7th Edo State House of Assembly, and to ensure that unscrupulous elements do not take matters into their hands to ferment trouble in the state.
According to Hon. Ohonbamu, “The Edo State Government is by this notice sending a strong warning to individuals and groups with the intention to cause violence in the state to do away with any such thought. Any attempt to re-enact the era of violence will be met with the requisite response from the relevant apparatus of the state.
“Acts capable of disrupting public peace will be quelled and the necessary legal actions taken to ensure that peace is maintained and law-abiding citizens go about their normal activities without let.”
