Demolitions of houses in Oke-Oroma community: Group threatens to vote against PDP on Mar.11 election
By Elvis Omoregie
A group under the aegis of Indigenous People of Oke-oroma Community in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State has described the recent reconciliatory moves embarked upon by Governor Godwin Obaseki for the sake of seeking votes for the House of Assembly candidates in the March 11election as medicine after death.
The group in their large numbers said they can’t vote any party, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that has put them in pains, destroyed their houses, rendered them homeless and later comes back to asked for forgiveness and votes during elections.
The peaceful protest which was carried out in the ancestral home of the community, called “Oguedion,” witness a large turnout raging from the youths to the old.
Speaking for the group, Imaho Vincent, said they have been sending series of politicians to beg them so that they can vote for them saying it’s was a mistake for what they did to them.
“Obaseki has started sending his people to beg us.
“They have been coming to the community kneeling down saying it is was all mistake destroying our houses, our ancestral homes including the ones that haven’t been completed.
“Over 10,000 houses were destroyed even when court granted an interlocutory injunction stoping government not to destroyed our houses, they violated the court order and still destroyed our houses.
“They are begging us now to vote for them and PDP for the forthcoming House of Assembly elections.
“We have told them we aren’t going to vote for them.
“They said they were misled by one commissioner.
“On that, we have said if it was a mistake, they should sign agreement with us that they have left the land for us.
“They should also go to the public and announce that they have left our land for us otherwise we are not going to vote PDP.
“We are going to vote them out because power belong to the people.
“We were the ones that voted them before and we vote them out now.
“We don’t need PDP again. We don’t need them at all.
“We can vote any other political party certainly not PDP because of what they came to do in Oke-oroma.
“We have said PDP is dead in Edo State”, Vincent said.
Also speaking, Mrs Osayamon Oviawe, alleged that the government destroyed more than 10,000 houses in the community.
She said they demolished more than three of her houses including her family members houses.
Oviawe said after everything they have done to them, they are coming to begged them for votes.
“When they came begging, we chased them away.
“We told them we are not voting PDP and that we are voting any other party but not PDP.
“When they were destroying our houses, they didn’t remember our votes.
“Let them sign agreement with us that they we rebuilding our houses and promised to leave our land for us”, Oviawe said”.
All effort to reach the commissioner for Information and Orientation Hon. Chris Enehikhare on the said move of the begging the community was unsuccessful.
