The Edo State government has in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Orientation and Information, Kassim Afegbua falsified news regarding the assassination attempt on the life of the state’s Deputy Governor, Pius Odubu.
According to circulating reports, gunmen were reported to have opened fire on the State Deputy Governor at the APC secretariat located in Auchi, Edo State.
The statement debunking the assassination attempt which was reported to have occurred a few minutes after the Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and his Deputy, Pius Odubu left a party organized by House of Assembly rep (Estako central constituency), Damian Lawani reads:
“It is instructive to note that the Deputy Governor was inside the secretariat building of the APC in the company of the Party Chairman in the Local Government, Alhaji Umoru Akokhia, addressing the delegates while thugs loyal to him who had become unruly fired gunshots at other APC loyalists who were outside protesting against his visit. We gathered authoritatively that the first shots were, in fact, fired by Odubu’s security details in an attempt to scare away the party faithful who were against the hoodlums imported to their domain by the Odubu Campaign Organisation, before thugs loyal to him fired at the party’s loyalists.
It should be noted that among those who sustained injuries are APC loyalists who are presently receiving medical attention in the hospital.
It is laughable that the Odubu Campaign Organisation will allege that the Deputy Governor, with full compliments of security details, was shot at yet no casualty was recorded on the other side and nobody apprehended.
Given the above scenario, we find it lousy for anyone to impute assassination theory as propounded by the Odubu Campaign Organisation especially when investigations are still ongoing and the Police are yet to submit their findings on the fracas. A responsible campaign organisation should have waited for investigation reports before jumping into reckless conclusions.”