There was tension in Benin city,
capital of Edo state, on Thursday, following the barricade aggrieved youth
mounted on both sides of the roads leading to the airport in the ancient city.
The youth in their hundreds lit
bonfires at strategic spots, chanting different songs. They also defied
security personnel who appealed for calm.
The situation compounded the
traffic woes in the city as motorists used alternative routes. Some of the
protesters vowed that the convoy of Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the
All Progressives Congress (APC), would not be allowed on the roads.
Some
passengers who arrived at the Benin airport during the commotion were trapped
inside for hours.
But policemen eventually
succeeded in pacifying them to open one side of the road to allow free flow of
traffic.
The incident happened on the eve
of the planned rally to welcome Osagie Ize-Iyamu, governorship candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2016, to the APC.
While Godwin Obaseki, governor of
the state, kicked against the rally, Oshiomhole expressed the desire to welcome
Ize-Iyamu alongside some ex-PDP members into the ruling party,
Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general
of police, subsequently ordered that the rally should be postponed.
This followed the request of the
Edo state government. Philip Shaibu, the deputy governor, had visited the force
headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, seeking a suspension of the programmes on
the grounds that it could lead to chaos.
Security personnel cleared the
road for the APC national chairman when he landed in the state.
Addressing his supporters,
Oshiomhole had said he needed time to find out what the true situation was on
regarding the directive of the IGP on the rally.
He also accused Obaseki of hiring
thugs to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the state.
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