Edo Crisis: APC And PDP Governorship Candidates Wives Clash Over Disrupted Medical Outreach

The Edo chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that a free medical outreach organised by the wife of its governorship candidate, Professor Idia Ize-Iyamu was disrupted on the orders of the First Lady of Edo State, Mrs Betsy Obaseki which order it said was carried out by the police.

The party said the medical outreach was to provide free health screening and other medical services to the people, especially the vulnerable that have not had access to healthcare for years.

According to a statement released by the Chairman of Edo APC Campaign Council, Mr John Mayaki,  the First Lady, Mrs Obaseki, felt displeased by the complete “overshadowing and abandonment of her event by the people who thronged the free medical outreach.”

It revealed, “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 cruelty, intolerance, and 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 statement added, “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.”

“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.”

But in a reaction by the Press Secretary to Mrs Obaseki, Mr Peter Okonkwo, said the first lady does not run the police force in the state nor is she the Chief Security Officer of the state.