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APC Kicks As Betsy Obaseki Allegedly Orders Closure Of Free Medical Outreach

Published

5 years ago

September 2, 2020

Ask The Police Who Gave The Order – Besty’s Aide

The All Progressives Congress has condemned the disruption of its ongoing free medical outreach in Edo Central Senatorial District by the Police acting on the instruction of Edo First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki.

The party said the medical outreach, initiated and flagged-off on Tuesday by the wife of its candidate in the governorship race, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, to provide free health screening and other medical services to the people, especially the vulnerable denied access to healthcare for years, was disrupted in Uromi by members of the Police deployed by the DPO and Area Commander of the Uromi division.

According to a statement released by Mr. John Mayaki, the Chairman of the Edo APC Campaign Council, the Police officers were acting on the instruction of the wife of Edo Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki.

She was attending a political event in the area and allegedly felt displeased by the complete overshadowing and abandonment of her event by the people who thronged the free medical outreach.

He condemned the First Lady’s actions, saying “it borders on arrogation of powers with no constitutional basis, insensitivity to the plight of the people, and a cruel prioritization of political showmanship over the health of the poor and vulnerable abandoned for four years by her husband, Governor Godwin Obaseki.”

Mayaki said: “By directing the Police to shut down the free medical outreach, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki arrogated unconstitutional powers to herself and sadly displayed the poor attributes including insensitivity to the plight of the people that earned the Obaseki-administration the infamy of being one of the worst seen in Edo State.

“The cruelty and insensitivity is further magnified by the fact that Mrs. Betsy Obaseki ordered the shut down because she felt slighted that her political event in the area was completely overshadowed by the medical outreach as the people, men, women, and the aged, expectedly chose to cater to their health than attend a vanity political show that holds no value to them.

“To order the closure of a free medical event catering to the poor over petty political concerns, especially vanity showmanship, is cruel and totally condemnable.

“The medical outreach, initiated by Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, was designed to provide care for the poorest of the poor and vulnerable citizens with various health conditions. All of these people have been abandoned and they live in communities where there are neither doctors nor health centres because the Governor, in his characteristic failure, fell woefully short of his promise to build 192 primary health centers with just 22 in four years.

“We condemn the actions of Mrs. Betsy Obaseki in the strongest possible terms and we urge the Commissioner of Police to rein in on his men to resist carrying out such cruel assignments and insist on the ethics of the profession, no matter who is asking.”

However, in a reaction, Press Secretary of Mrs. Obaseki, Mr. Peter Okonkwo said the first lady does not run the police force in the state neither is she the Chief Security Officer of the state.

He added that if at all such happened, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), should be asked who gave him such orders because he must be acting on the orders of a superior.

Okonkwo said “Her Excellency Betsy Obaseki is busy with the Women Wing of the PDP Campaign committee and is currently campaigning in Uromi as we speak.

“She does not run the Police force and so this accusation is totally frivolous. The APC is intimidated by the massive support of Esan people for the PDP government and their resolve to return Governor Obaseki for second term, so they are now making up excuses not to continue their campaign”‘, he stated.

News

UPDATED: INEC Declares Soludo Winner Of Anambra Guber Poll

Published

2 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has been declared the winner of the Saturday, November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Edoba Omoregie.

Soludo, who polled a total of 422,664 votes, defeated his closest rival, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes, while the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Sir Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.

According to INEC, a total of 16 candidates from various political parties participated in the election.

The state had 2,788,864 registered voters, out of which 598,229 were accredited. A total of 595,298 votes were cast, while 11,244 votes were rejected across the 21 local government areas.

From the results announced, Soludo of APGA won in all 21 local government areas of the state in a landslide victory.

Announcing the results at the INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, Omoregie said, “The number of registered voters was 2,788,864, while accredited voters were 598,229. The total valid votes stood at 584,054, rejected votes were 11,244, and the total votes cast amounted to 595,298.”

He added, “After collating the results as tallied into Form EC8E, it is now my privilege to declare the figures each candidate scored according to their political parties.

“There were a few areas affected by incidents, leading to cancellations in some wards across Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka South, and Onitsha South LGAs, amounting to 10,481 affected votes. However, the margin of lead between the top candidates did not affect the overall outcome of the election.

“I, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Returning Officer for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship Election, hereby declare that the election was peaceful. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, having scored 422,664 votes — the highest number of valid votes cast and having satisfied the requirements of the law — is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”

Breakdown of results:

Total registered voters: 2,788,864

Total accredited voters: 598,229

Total valid votes: 584,054

Rejected votes: 11,244

Total votes cast: 595,298

Votes by political parties:
A – 224
AA – 1,145
AAC – 292
ADC – 8,208
APC – 99,445
APGA – 422,664
APM – 892
APP – 73
BP – 126
LP – 10,576
NNPP – 525
NRM – 36
PDP – 1,401
SDP – 241
YPP – 37,753
ZLP – 453

News

BREAKING: Soludo Sweeps Anambra Guber Election

Published

6 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra governorship election, Prof. Charles Soludo has been declared winner of the poll.

Returning Officer of the election, Prof. Edoba declared Soludo winner having polled
422,664 votes to defeat his closest opponent.

More details coming

News

AnambraDecides: CTA Frowns at Logistic Challenge, Ill-treatment Meted On Security Personnel

Published

6 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The Center for Transparency and Advocacy on Saturday frowned at the logistic challenges faced during the Anambra governorship election despite INEC claimed preparedness.

The organisation also chided authorities concerned over ill- treatment meted on security personnel who were deployed from different on special special duty during the election.

In an mid-election briefing in Awka, Prof Alex Asigbo, an expert observer with the CTA said the election was held in a relatively atmosphere of peace, amidst heavy deployment of security personnel.

Asigbo, who emphasized the need for INEC to carry out more voters education, disclosed that it was observed that while voting was ongoing, a church programme was being held in a part of Akwa.

He said, “The Anambra State Gubernatorial Election, one of the off-season elections in today’s Nigeria’s electoral calendar held across 21 Local Governments on the 8th November 2025.

“The election held as scheduled in a relatively peaceful atmosphere, amid heavy deployment of police and other security agencies. We had noted the general climate of peace in the build up to the elections. CTA deployed 50 trained election observers across the 21 local government areas to observe the election.

“Recall that in our pre-election assessment, we raised concerns on the preparedness of INEC, logistics, security, and the role of political actors in delivering a free, fair, credible, inclusive and conclusive elections.The following are the preliminary findings from our field observers deployed across the state: Time of arrival of INEC Officials and materials/ Commencement of voting

“Reports from our field observers indicate that INEC officials and materials arrived late in many polling units, resulting in late opening of polls in many polling units. In about 68 percent of polling units, INEC officials and material arrived between 8:25 to 9am, while in about 31 percent of the polling units, voting commenced much later – between 8:30 and 10:00am.CTA notes that INEC is yet to resolve its logistics challenge, as earlier highlighted in our pre-election press briefing.”

He said that despite assurances from the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), CTA observers reported that logistics arrangements, including vehicles deployment, were inadequate, adding that In some instances, hired vehicles for the election refused to pick up other INEC officials to polling units after making their initial drop-off, which further contributed to delays.

Continuing, he said.
“Our observers report that due to security reasons, INEC was forced to relocate voting in five communities of Azia, Orsumoghu, Mbosi, Ubuluisiuzo, Issekke and Lilu to the headquarters of Ihiala LGA . Voter Turnout/ Conduct of Voters Voter turnout was generally low. Many have been influenced by voter apathy, security concerns, and doubts about the credibility of the electoral process. Some of the citizens showed lack of interest in the election, one of such experience was at Demonstration Primary School at Agu Awka in Awka South where our observers reported a Church programme going on simultaneously with voting.

“We charged citizens to take civic duty very serious. INEC and Political parties must also take civil and voter education very serious to educate citizens. However, CTA commends the citizens for conducting themselves peacefully and in accordance with voting guidelines. “