LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-A candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata, and the Edo state government have clashed over allegations of billboard vandalism in strategic locations in Benin City, the state capital.
Akpata and his campaign organisation accused individuals believed to be government agents of pulling down his billboards, sparking verbal confrontation between the two parties.
However, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, dismissed the allegations as false. Nehikhare urged Akpata to engage with billboard owners and regulatory authorities to address any issues related to unsettled bills.
Speaking at a press conference in Benin City, Akpata warned of potential anarchy ahead of the September 21st governorship election if the destruction of billboards continued. He asserted that no valid reasons had been provided for the vandalism.
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He said “Over the past few days, we have witnessed a coordinated, premeditated, and insidious assault on our constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech, political expression, and the fundamental tenets of democracy itself. Billboards that I, as a law-abiding citizen and a gubernatorial candidate, legally paid for and erected across the length and breadth of Benin City have come under attack from the Local Government Areas, who are agents of the incumbent governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki.
“In Oredo Local Government Area, two of my billboards were viciously vandalised, defaced, and ultimately torn down, with explicit threats of more removals to come. The situation is equally dire and unacceptable in Ovia North East, where two more billboards bearing my visage and campaign messages were mindlessly destroyed by these merchants of antidemocratic forces. In Ikpoba Okha, my campaign team has received unambiguous threats that our billboards in that area will also be targeted for elimination.