Chief Patrick Osagie Eholor, the Director Contact and Mobilisation of the Labour Party(LP) in the Diaspora and President One Love Foundation, is angry.
In this tete-a-tete with Popular News he beared his mind on issues that are bothering him.
What happened in Lagos yesterday was a retrogression and show of shame. We have a guy called MC Oluomo whose video went viral. He was threatening the Igbos that if anybody votes for them he is going to be dealt with. He went further to say that if anybody wants to vote for the Igbos they should go to Nnewi or Anambra. My question is that is it not one Nigeria? Is it not a country where we have fought a civil war and we lost a lot of lives and we came back in unity and said let us live together.
If it is one Nigeria why will Tinubu, who was supposedly elected, though it is being contested in the court, to represent every Nigerian. Is it because Tinubu has a Muslim/Muslim ticket? Is he going to be a sectional leader? God forbid, if he becomes the President of Nigeria. That is the question we are going to be asking. Furthermore, the INEC has failed us again. What’s the need of Police if they cannot protect lives and properties. The police are dressed in their uniforms with their AK 47 they assist the thugs to snatch the ballot boxes or to abuse the citizens who are out there to do their lawful duty, their civic responsibility. I think that’s wrong. I think that we have a serious problem in this country because if we don’t nip it in the bud we might not have a country again.
How I was molested and abused in my own state, Edo, yesterday.
I went to my place in Ovia North East to vote. As I was there there were lots of distress calls. I can’t be everywhere. I do the little I can do to make sure there is peace and harmony between us because after the election we are still the same people. We are still Nigerians. However, I was at George Idah Primary School around 6.00pm. I saw the Chief Of Staff(COS) to the state governor(Governor Godwin Obaseki), Osaigbovo Iyoha, trying to intimidate the voters. I told him that it will never be possible. I called the Director of DSS. May God continue to bless her. Within five minutes she sent a Hilux of DSS men. When the Hilux arrived with the DSS men Iyoha and Thomas Aroko disappeared into thin air. We couldn’t find them.
I remained resolute. I stood there. After the collation of results in Idah Primary School they took the ballot boxes to Urhokpota Hall. The Police were standing. We, the LP, were winning overwhelmingly. In the presence of the police they were changing the results. I said that it cannot happen. Not when I am alive. I have been doing this for about 30 years. I have always been on the side of the people. I am not concerned about their sexuality. I love gay people and lesbians. They’re not my problem. I love good governance. I have lived in Canada for many years. I have friends who are lesbians and also gays. I don’t judge them because if I judge them I will be judged. I leave that for God. I am not concerned about the governor and Iyoha’s sexuality. But I am only concerned that Iyoha will allow himself to be used by the governor to subvert the will of the people. This is more than kidnapping. This is our future. This is our right. Before I could say Jack Iyoha authorized some notorious thugs who are not ready to be liberated, the same thugs that I am fighting for to take me out. You know what that means? Kill him. But I resisted them.
Thank God for the life of Austin V Boot. That’s what they call him. The guy said not in my time. Ultimate Equals will not die here. He protected me. I was hurriedly taken to the car so I can leave. The Police were standing there doing nothing. What were the police doing? You’re supposed to save lives and properties. I called the Commissioner of Police(Dankwara) many times. I sent him a text message. He promised to call me back. He didn’t call me back. Listen if you see things going wrong you say nothing you do nothing it means you’re culpable. It means you accept what is going on.
But in a swift reaction, Iyoha when contacted, denied the allegation and said that Eholor came to disrupt the process of collation in the centre.
Iyoha said “I am shocked at this allegation which ordinarily should not merit a response. However, we were at the collation centre and I was assisting in collating the result of my ward, I was engrossed in the process and suddenly I started hearing grumblings and noises I was forced to look up then I saw that somebody was being pushed out and he was shouting, but to ensure that there was peace, I immediately told somebody to help calm the situation and I am shocked he is now holding me responsible.
“If I may ask, was he supposed to be in that place at that time of the election? There are laws guiding elections and in a collation centre, there are regulations guiding who should be there and how they should conduct themselves so was he expected to be there at that time? He is only making unfounded allegations against me.”
