Over 100 buildings have been demolished in Irhirihi, Arougba, Obazagbon and Ogheghe communities due to reclamation of land in Benin, Edo State.
This development has resulted into a war of words between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State.
The APC, in a statement on Monday, by its Chairman, Col. David Imuse, accused the State Government of manipulation and condemned the act as illegal demolition.
He said, “As a party, we condemn in strong terms these illegal demolitions by the jittery and rudderless PDP-led administration in the state. We see this policy of regularly demolishing public and private properties by the Obaseki-led government as irrational, evil and undemocratic.’’
“Before this land was forcefully acquired by the same government in 2017, it was the world-renowned Ogba River Forest Reserve, which successive governments before Obaseki used for reforestation purposes.”
However, the Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, said the APC in the State are afraid because of Gov Obaseki’s determination to put an end to land-grabbing.
He said, “The APC in the state is jittery over the determination of Governor Obaseki to end land-grabbing in Edo, because they are the land-grabbers.
“The party and its leaders are throwing tantrums today over the repossession exercise in Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe Road because while they held office, the APC and its chieftains promoted the appropriation of community land with the use of non-state actors and overlords, who in the run-up to the Edo State governorship election in 2020 were popularly known as lions and tigers.’’
“Obaseki parted ways with the APC, chiefly due to such ideological differences.”