Gunmen Kidnap Edo PDP Chairman

Gunmen have kidnapped the Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Tony Aziegbemi.

It was learnt that the chairman was abducted at about 7 pm on Friday, less than three days after the expiration of the party’s State Working Committee.

It was gathered that the PDP chairman was kidnapped on Friday (yesterday), when he was about to enter his house shortly after a meeting with Governor Godwin Obaseki in Benin City.

An anonymous source reported that the PDP chairman was abducted upon leaving his residence along Country Home Hotel Road in Benin City, following a meeting with the governor.

According to the source, as the driver was about to enter the compound, the kidnappers blocked the jeep, took Dr. Tony Aziegbemi away, and left the driver.

He added that the PDP candidate for the forthcoming September 21, 2024, governorship election, Asue Ighodalo, was supposed to attend the meeting with the governor.

He said the governorship candidate was, however, not able to attend the meeting due to his meeting with the party’s leaders in Uromi, the administrative headquarters of Esan North-East Local Government Area.

A chieftain of the party, who also spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, said the abducted PDP chairman’s meeting with the governor was on how to plan to set up a caretaker committee that would take over the affairs of the party pending the election of a new executive.

“Our plan is to set up a Caretaker Committee to take over the affairs of the party since we have a very important election coming up on September 21, 2024. The Aziegbemi-led State Exco ended on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

“As you may be aware, conducting a fresh PDP State Congress in Edo State when the governorship election is around the corner may weaken our togetherness as one party towards winning the election,” he said.

Upon contact, Chidi Nwabuzor, the Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, requested time to provide a response.