Comrade Godwin Erhahon is a seasoned journalist and activist. He is presently the State publicity secretary of the APC. He was a former State publicity secretary and state chairman of the defunct ANPP and CPC respectively. In this interview, the APC publicist bare his mind on the crisis rocking the executive and the legislature in the state with our correspondent AMULE RAFIU.
Excerpts:
How do you react to the allegation that your party organized thugs who brutalized Hon. Razak Momoh as well as the attack on the legislative quarters?
Actually there are three major incidents one of which I was a victim. We are aware of the beating to stupor of Hon. Razak Momoh. I hate violence because by his Grace, it is not part of my upbringing but the politics you find yourself in, especially with those who are prone to violence and probably destined to die by violence. I pity the Hon. member you talked about and when I heard of how bad he was beaten, I remember that he is somebody who is facing a case of gun running with the police. People also linked him with a history of violence but sadly, is the fact that he was accused of being given money to mobilize for the visit of Jonathan (that was his first visit) and some people were said to have been unhappy with the way he disbursed the money hence they went to ambush him in the Legislative quarters. I am tempted to believe that, but all the same whatever happened, that does not justify the kind of brutality meted on him and so, I was surprised when they were pointing accusing fingers at the APC state legislators (fellow legislators) because there is no way fellow legislators could have beaten him the way they did.
On Saturday, we were invited by the governor to accompany him to receive Mr. President who was coming as a guest of the state government to lay the foundation stone of the Azura/Edo power plant. There and then, I saw how the Redeem pastor unleashed his thugs on me and you are aware that this is somebody, during the post congress crisis in the state when he was still a member of the APC, I challenged him on several occasions for a public television debate. He could not honor it but resorted to releasing his arsenal of war on me. Thank God I appreciate the efforts of some of the police officers on ground who quickly rescued me but I was reliably informed that after I left, they descended on the Secretary to the state government, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, state chairman of APC Anslem Ojezua, the auditor of the party and the Chief of staff. That again showed the level of desperation. Unfortunately, all the brains directly behind the PDP brutality in the state are second hand members of the PDP. Somebody as honorable as Hon. Victor Edos Ebomwonyi who is aborigine member of the PDP would not take part in such violence. What is happening is that some people believe that they can hijack the party machinery of the PDP after moving from the APC. Because they have been rejected by the PDP and since they are ashamed to come back to beg they believe they can achieve that by causing unnecessarily confusion. In any case, the aboriginal PDP are happy that they have such hatchet men coming from the APC. (they are people who left the PDP after destroying it to the ACN and now they are back to the PDP after causing problems in the APC. So, what I am saying is that what happened in the state Assembly was just a climax. The attraction is because it involves the assembly member and the police demonstrated some level of support for the violence that was unleashed on people. In all these, I challenge Pastor Enoch Adeboye that his church is giving Edo State serious concern and because Adeboye cannot claim not to know the level of involvement of one of his pastors in these Edo violence.
At a critical time now when christendom is undergoing distrust and ungodly accusations about the involvement of the leadership of CAN in the importation of arm by the PDP through the former militant leader of the Niger delta for the purpose of causing mayhem in the 2015 election and if the Redeem Christian Church of God headed by the most respected Enoch Adeboye has a pastor who is a confirmed agent of violence in the state, I honestly think Enoch Adeboye must rescue his church from satan and return them to Christ. Alternatively, if the so called pastor refused to be tamed he should be allowed to go and form his own church. I feel so bad when this evil pastor make use of innocent young men to perpetrate his evil deeds.
Why did Governor Oshiomhole refuse to denounce the attack on Momoh and visit him in the hospital but rather quickly chose to denounce the attack on the legislators quarters?
You heard the governor speak on the matter recently. He said when Momoh was arrested with arms, he called and adviced him about his level of violence. And for him, he abhors violence. Therefore, for somebody who had been so far warned severally against evil should not attract any sympathy from somebody who had so adviced him.
What is your advice on possible ways to stop this violence that is gradually spreading before it gets to an uncontrollable level?
We just pray that the police should perform their constitutional role while we will also continue to pray to God to change the heart of those involved.
Are you going to take legal action on the assault on you?
No, I don’t need that because I know my star, I know my God will react. Ize Iyamu and Friday Ogieriakhi are from my local government and I know it was their boys who assaulted me. I only wish them well and my concern is for their wife and children. I pray God to redirect Pastor Ize Iyamu so that the children will not reap so much curse from their father’s deeds. His wife is educated and I expect her to have cautioned her husband against violence and his desperation.
