The Edo State State Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Harrison Omagbon has debunked reports of defection from the his party to other parties, describing them as fake news and “mere propaganda”. He urged members of the party to remain calm and not panic or worry.
Accusing opposition parties in the state of peddling falsehood with a view to deceiving the people and the unsuspecting public, Omagbon said in Benin City, the state capital, on Thursday that the resort to the tactics was expected from the major opposition parties in the state since they are not equipped to engage in issue-based conversation and campaign.
He said: “All I have to say is that there’s no need for anybody to panic or worry because of what you read on the social media. It is still very early in the day. Nobody should be worried because no one can tell the direction of the election now. People are not leaving PDP, it is the other way round. As we speak, in my own local government of Ovia South, people defected from the APC (All Progressives Congress) to PDP yesterday. All I know is that come rain, come shine, Edo is a PDP state and September will be the time to really establish that”.
The governorship election in the state is scheduled for 21st September with the PDP, which has the outgoing governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, fielding serial entrepreneur, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
The PDP leader further said: “You know they like to peddle fake news, engage in misinformation and propaganda. They don’t have what it takes to engage in an issue based conversation and campaign.
“PDP has the best candidate in Dr. Asue Ighodalo. Just look at the caliber of people the PDP is parading and look at what other parties are bringing to the table, you can see that there is a big difference. They are no match for our candidates”.
Emphatic that the PDP would win the election, Omagbon assured that the party would play by the rules and would not join others in playing what he called “dirty and negative politics”.
“We are confident that we will win the election. We will not play dirty and negative politics involving campaign of calumny, propaganda or peddling of fake news. For us it will be an issue based campaign. Our candidate is for an open contest. He has the capacity, the competencies and above all, he is compassionate. Those who have interacted closely with him, marvel at his level of humility. He relates easily with everybody, no airs, no raising of shoulders and no disrespect to anyone. Dr Ighodalo is driven by his love for the people. He is concerned about their welfare and all he wants is the platform to positively impact the lives of the people for the better”, Omagbon stated.
