From Tony Osauzo
Former Chief Press Secretary to Edo State Governor, Mr. John Mayaki, yesterday, called on the United States of America to ban the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and some members of his cabinet for allegedly sponsoring election violence and rigging against the Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the just concluded National and State Assembly elections in the state.
He said the United States should stop being hypocritical and selective in its punitive measures against anti-democratic elements, if they must be taken seriously, adding that the $75m World Bank grant to Obaseki’s administration was a tacit support for a government that denied and blocked the inauguration of 14 elected House of Assembly members in the state and making sure that the case was never mentioned in court.
Mayaki accused the governor of resorting to draconian measures to avoid facing the electoral judgement of the people over a self-induced fear that the outcome could result in the termination of his hapless reign in charge of the state.
“Governor Godwin Obaseki was haunted by the shadow of incompetence and general failure he cast since his unfortunate emergence as the leader of the state. He knew that a free and fair result could only produce one result; the total and complete rejection of his party at the polls. Unwilling to submit himself to the checks and balances of a legitimate state house of assembly filled with independently-minded representatives of the people, he resorted to violence, voter repression, and naked rigging of the polls”, he added.
Mayaki while faulting those he described as the abettors of Governor Obaseki’s lawlessness and tyranny, criticised the World Bank and the Buhari administration for ‘propping up the evil regime’ by consistently failing to demand accountability for his alleged persecution of opponents, denial of constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, and disregard of the rule of law marked by his illegal denial of access to 14 lawmakers-elect in the last state assembly.
“The World Bank has sadly continued to give oxygen to an administration that is literally persecuting the opposition in Edo State. It is a sad betrayal of the institution’s values. Obaseki, through violent and abhorrent tactics, forced a one-man rule in Edo State.
“He unilaterally denied representation to representatives of the people in the last state assembly election and granted access to a select-few minority who were willing to surrender the autonomy of the House and bow to his wishes. Through this totalitarian control achieved with violence and flagrant disregard of the constitution, he went on a borrowing spree, racking up loans with neither the approval of the people as would have ordinarily been the case with a functional assembly, nor a transparent account of government expenses, including bogus and inflated contracts awarded to friends and cronies in his elaborate patronage network.
“If the World Bank is truly committed to sustainable development, eradication of poverty, and the strengthening of democracy across the globe, then it must review its role and come to terms with its complicity in the daylight robbery and egregious violation of rights committed in Edo State by a man it continues to empower.
“The same applies to the Buhari-led Federal Government. It will go down in history that under the President’s watch, a state governor was allowed to shut the door to the state assembly to elected lawmakers over suspicion that they would not do his bidding and he successfully maintained the lopsided and illegal status quo throughout the life of the Assembly without check”, Mayaki stated.
Meanwhile, Mayaki has commended the Edo APC for claiming several seats in the just-concluded state and federal legislative elections, noting that the party’s victory, particularly in the federal elections, is proof that the people have rejected the governor and his party, the PDP.
He also congratulated the winners and alleged that the party’s win would have been bigger but for the violence and repression carried out by the Governor in a bid to ‘conceal his disgraceful loss of face, sullied reputation, and widespread unpopularity in the state.
Recall that the APC won two Senate, seven House of Representatives, and eight State House of Assembly seats in the election, giving it a combined majority of seats to represent the people at the state and federal level.