Prince Tony Momoh, a former minister of information, said on Thursday that the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State may result in bloodshed if the political gladiators decide to employ all manners of unconventional tactics to achieve their objectives.
Momoh, one of the national leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), however, said recent developments in the state were not unusual given the fact that electioneering activities were in top gear while the political parties were trying to outdo one another.
“What is happening in Edo State is what usually happens in any other state where there is pending election in politics.
“They are just playing politics. Part of playing politics is ignoring the rule of law. All is fair in war, according to the laws of competition.
“Competition can be carried to an extent that it becomes war. The issue is those who are igniting the war do not know how it will end.
“As a monitor of governance, I know that where you have competition, the outcome is not necessarily palatable.
“In Edo State, if we are not careful, there is going to be bloodshed. Like I said, in a competition, people use all the weapons. All is fair in war; use the weapons that you have to win.
“If you look at the war in the North-East, Boko Haram is using dangerous weapons against soldiers, something that shouldn’t be used against human beings. That goes to show you that all is fair in war.
“I am a member of the APC and I want my party to win but when it comes to conflict analysis, I say it as it is.
“When I said when two elephants fight the grass suffers, I do not foresee that even the two elephants will be crippled. Look at what happened in Edo State.”
Also speaking on the actions of the 17 elected lawmakers led by Victor Edoror, Momoh said any action taken by the lawmakers would not be binding on Governor Godwin Obaseki.
“From the legal point of view, people were elected and yet to be sworn in. They are supposed to attend parliamentary meetings; if they did not attend sitting at all, automatically their seat lapses.
“You will see that the people who are being sworn in have no business being sworn in legally because without any other analysis, having looked at the days they were out of parliament without being sworn in, their seat has lapsed. So, you cannot have people who are not sworn in impeaching anybody?
“Whatever decision they take, will it be binding on the governor? The governor will not obey any law that they claim they are making because it is not a legitimate body. That is what they will say.” he concluded.
