The Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare ll, has condemned in strong terms, the clash between supporters of APC and PDP last Saturday, that occurred at the gate of the palace.
The clash occurred soon after the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, some PDP governors and the leadership of the party, who came for the former flag-off of the governorship campaign, left the palace.
The Monarch, in a statement issued and signed by the Secretary to the Benin Traditional Council, Frank Irabor, said the palace was surprised to hear later that there was an incident outside the palace.
The statement warned:
The palace therefore wishes to reiterate and emphasise once more that the Benin Throne is not partisan and uses this medium to advise all political party members not to turn Edo State into a war zone because of governorship ambition.
The statement went further said:
The palace recalled the warm reception accorded the Oba by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state when the Oba paid a Thank-You visit to those states and the visit ended well.
The tension leading up to the September 19 poll has heightened in recent days as several members of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s cabinet resigned their appointments, with some of them citing personal reasons.
Also, members of the Oredo Ward of the APC, where Governor Obaseki hails from, have declared their support for his political arch rival, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who has had the backing of the former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole.
Both Oshiomhole and Obaseki fell apart after the former deemed governor unfit to contest for a second term at the pool. This, however, saw the disqualification of Obaseki at the APC primary election.
Refusing to back down on the setback, the incumbent governor defected to the opposition party, PDP, where he won the party’s ticket to contest the election
