The conflict between the chairmen of the state’s 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and the Edo State Government has taken a new turn.
The secretariat of the Etsako West LGA was shut down on Monday after suspected thugs broke in. The former governor of the state and senator for the Edo North Senatorial District, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who is regarded as Governor Monday Okpebholo’s political mentor, resides in Etsako West LGA.
Recall that last week, Oshiomhole approved of Governor Okpebholo’s decision to suspend the 18 LGAs, even though an Edo State High Court decision had ruled that the suspension was unlawful.
The situation escalated on Monday when suspected political thugs took the law into their own hands, seizing control of the Etsako West Council Secretariat in Auchi. This left council workers stranded and unable to access the secretariat.
According to information obtained, the state government is purportedly using the invasion of Etsako West LGA, which is similar to the invasion of Oredo LGA last week, as part of a plan to bar the suspended council chairmen from entering their offices.
Marvellous Zibiri, the chairman of the Etsako West LGA, is one of the 18 LGA chairmen who were granted relief by the High Court’s decision, which mandated that no barriers should stand in their way of returning to their duties. Nevertheless, Zibiri, who had previously released a press release declaring his resumption in light of the decision, was physically prevented from entering his office at the council secretariat in spite of this court order—and instead of contesting the verdict.
The main entrance to the council was blocked by a group of fierce-looking thugs allegedly sympathetic to the state government, determined to prevent the council chairman and his deputy from gaining entry.
The thugs also blocked the gate, preventing council employees who showed up for work from entering the building. This compelled the workers to huddle under trees close by, discussing the worrying circumstances in low voices so as not to provoke the thugs.
There was a police van outside the council building and at the entrance. The local police command’s personnel, however, seemed to be few in number and unconcerned with the pandemonium that was developing. The police’s seeming tacit support for the thugs infuriated a lot of council employees. They contended that the police should have broken down the barricades, scattered the thugs, and unlocked the gates so that employees could return to their jobs if they were there to keep the peace.
A council staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The inaction of the police strongly supports the notion that their presence is merely to facilitate the illegality of preventing the council chairmen from resuming their roles.”
