The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has firmly maintained that its secretariat along the Benin Airport Road remains its official office, despite recent claims and actions by the All Progressives Congress.
The PDP, which holds the tenancy for the property, emphasized that the building belongs to a private individual and rejected any attempt by the APC to take control of the premises following a Thursday afternoon invasion.
Addressing a press conference on Friday in Benin, Edo State PDP Chairman, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, alongside other party officials, described the APC’s actions as a threat to peace and stability in the state.
Aziegbemi recounted the events of Thursday, when a group of APC supporters, led by the party’s State Chairman, Jaret Tenebe, reportedly stormed the PDP secretariat, causing damage to the property and engaging in violent actions. According to the PDP, the APC’s invasion lasted over an hour, during which banners and other materials were destroyed, and party officials were physically assaulted.
Aziegbemi explained that he was present at the secretariat during the invasion and immediately contacted the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Aideyan Police Station. However, the DPO’s response was delayed, with police assistance arriving nearly an hour after the incident began. The PDP chairman condemned the actions as “executive recklessness,” warning that such behavior could lead to anarchy and a breakdown of law and order in Edo State if left unchecked.
The PDP also questioned the legitimacy of the APC’s claims to the property, noting that Tenebe had previously been involved in a 2020 court case seeking to relocate the APC’s secretariat from the same building. The court had granted permission for the APC to move its secretariat to another location, leaving the PDP as the legitimate tenant of the property.
In response to the APC’s claims that the building was rented under a seven-year tenancy agreement before the former governor, Godwin Obaseki, converted it to the PDP secretariat after defecting to the party in 2020, the PDP insisted that the property still rightfully belongs to them.
The PDP urged the Federal Government, civil society organizations, and international bodies to intervene and hold Governor Monday Okpebholo and the APC accountable for what the party described as an escalating pattern of lawlessness and violence in the state. The PDP expressed concern that the current situation is a serious threat to democracy and peace in Edo State.
The distraught PDP State Chairman explained what happened in a press statement titled, “Criminal Trespass, Breaking and Entry, Stealing and Malicious Damage,” thus:
“At 1:31 pm yesterday, January 16, 2025, the APC, using several Hilux vans and other vehicles, led by Jarret Tenebe, deployed their thugs, backed by police officers from the Government House, to sack the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from its secretariat on Airport Road, Benin City, the Edo State capital.
“The entire operation was violent and brutal as has never been heard of or seen before, and sadly it lasted for more than an hour. The secretariat was vandalised, and there was wreckage and destruction everywhere. Banners and other materials were taken off and destroyed. Lives were put in danger, including mine as the Chairman of the PDP in Edo State. I was forcefully bundled out of my office with the help of Mr Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Blessing Agbebaku, amidst brutal assault and violence against my person.
“No doubt, this is arguably the worst attack on democracy in any part of Nigeria since the nation’s return to democracy in 1999. Even military regimes before 1999 were not as violent or brutal against dissenting voices as the Okpebholo-led government since they took office on November 12, 2024.
Today’s violent takeover of the PDP Secretariat by Okpebholo and the APC is a clear reflection of the reign of terror that the people of Edo State have witnessed over the past two months. We state unequivocally that we are the legitimate tenants of the said property. It is the same devious tactics deployed to sack and intimidate duly elected council chairmen and vice chairmen out of office, using horse whips and other dangerous weapons. It is the same pattern that is deployed in motor parks and markets, where thugs operating under the protection of the state government harass, intimidate, and extort transporters and traders daily without restraint.
“We must unequivocally state that Edo is at the precipice. Democracy in Edo State is on fire.
“Worst still, the police and other security agencies in the state who are supposed to put them in check appear to be either complacent or complicit.”
He therefore called “on the Federal Government, international agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to rein in Governor Okpebholo, who has become an unleashed force of lawlessness, and let him know the limits of his power as a governor and put an end to this executive rascality, illegality, brigandage, and brazen assault on democracy.
“Again, we warn that the wind currently blowing in Edo State is an ill-wind, which will blow no one any good,” Aziegbemi warned.
