The chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Jarret Tenebe, has issued a strong warning to supporters of the African Democratic Congress, threatening them to watch their back, demanding that they leave Edo for their safety.
“I want to send a message to people who call themselves ADC in this state. They should be very careful. Because we only have PDP remaining, not ADC. If you want to identify with ADC, you have to leave Edo for us,” Mr Tenebe said.
Mr. Tenebe, in a video shortly after the APC primaries, made this statement amid rising political tensions over Governor Monday Okpebholo’s threat to Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra.
Justifying the governor’s threat to Mr Obi, the APC chair said Mr Okpebholo was “correct” to have threatened the ADC coalition chieftain.
“Well, since morning, when the primaries are going on, there have been criticisms all over the press over the statement the governor made yesterday when he was receiving the remaining PDP Edo Central, when he said Peter Obi had to take permission for his rallies. I think the governor was right in saying that,” Mr Tenebe explained.
He added, “He is correct. We support him in whatever he said. So, whatever anybody is saying, they are just saying rubbish.”
The Edo APC chairman also vowed to win the upcoming local government elections to affirm his party’s popularity, adding that whoever stands in the way of the ruling party will be “smoked out.”
“We are going to campaign as if we have never campaigned in this state before. Because of the way we have taken this election seriously. We want to affirm that we won the last governorship election overwhelmingly,” said Mr Tenebe. “We want to prove to the world that we actually won the election. We are not going to leave any stone unturned. We are also sure that anybody who tries to stand in our way, we will smoke that person out.”
The APC chairman’s statement followed Mr Okphebholo’s threat that the security of Mr. Obi could not be guaranteed if he visited Edo without permission.