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Warnings of Violence as Nigeria's Edo State Prepares for Polls

The governorship elections in Nigeria's Edo State is set for September 19, 2020. The main candidates are Godwin Obaseki, who is the Edo State governor but who defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the official opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after he could not secure the support of President Muhammadu Buhari in running for a second term. Added to that is his falling out with Adams Oshiomhole, at the time the APC's chairperson, who was also the previous governor of Edo State. As the tensions escalated in Edo, President Buhari stepped in and sidelined Obaseki who at that stage, decided to quit the ruling party and find a new political home at the PDP. Despite disapproval from some members, he became the party's flagbearer for the Edo elections. President Buhari in the meantime gave his support to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for the governorship and axed Adams Oshiomhole as the APC chairperson. Now Amnesty International has expressed their concerns at the "perceived threats to human rights" ahead of the elections, while rights group the Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Good Governance and Electoral Matters, staged a protest in Abuja against the "growing threat of violence" by political parties ahead of the polls.

 

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