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"You Are Campaigning When There Is No Light": Angry Orhionmwon Youths Disrupt Edo Deputy Speaker's Re-election Flag-Off
What was supposed to be a triumphant campaign flag-off for the Deputy Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Osamwonyi Atu, turned into a political nightmare on Friday, April 24, 2026, as hundreds of angry constituents flooded the streets of Abudu in Orhionmwon Local Government Area to reject his re-election bid. The protesters, predominantly young men and women operating under the banner of the Concerned Orhionmwon East Youths, carried placards, chanted anti-Atu slogans, and brought his campaign event to a grinding halt — declaring in one viral video: "You are campaigning when there is no light in your constituency. You have not even fulfilled your 2023 campaign promises."
The protest, which unfolded just weeks before the scheduled APC primary for the 2027 general elections, represents one of the most dramatic displays of constituent anger in Edo State's current political cycle. For a lawmaker who occupies the second-highest position in the state legislature, the sight of his own constituents flooding the streets to reject him — at his own campaign launch — is an image that will prove difficult to erase from voters' minds.
The Grievances: 15 Years of Darkness and an Unfinished School
Behind the placards and chants were two specific, concrete grievances that have festered for years. The first is a prolonged power outage that residents say has lasted over 15 years — a staggering period of time during which families, businesses, and students in the constituency have been forced to live without electricity. "You are campaigning when there is no light in your constituency," one protester was captured saying, a line that quickly went viral and encapsulated the frustration of a community that feels forgotten.
The second grievance is the non-completion of a comprehensive school project promised during the 2023 electioneering campaign. For a constituency already grappling with inadequate infrastructure, the failure to deliver on an educational facility — one that Atu himself reportedly campaigned on — represented a breach of trust that the youths were no longer willing to tolerate. As the protesters put it bluntly: "No more promises."
The concerns raised by the Orhionmwon youths are not isolated complaints. Across Nigeria, electricity access remains a key indicator of governance performance, and in rural and semi-urban constituencies like Orhionmwon East, prolonged blackouts are both an economic drain and a symbol of political neglect. Education infrastructure, similarly, is one of the most visible and measurable deliverables for any state lawmaker. The protesters' decision to centre their anger on these two issues — rather than on abstract grievances — gave their demonstration a clarity and moral force that could not be easily dismissed.
The Deputy Speaker Responds: "Those Protesting Are Pained by the Anti-Cultism Law"
Atu's response to the protest was swift but, to many observers, startlingly dismissive. Rather than address the specific grievances raised by his constituents — the 15-year power outage and the uncompleted school — the Deputy Speaker attributed the demonstration to backlash from individuals affected by the state's anti-cultism law recently passed by the Assembly. "Those protesting are pained by the anti-cultism law. The law has come to stay," Atu declared.
The statement has drawn sharp rebuke from political commentators who argue that it reflects a troubling tendency among elected officials to deflect rather than engage. The Edo State Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Law, signed by Governor Monday Okpebholo, imposes severe penalties including ten years' imprisonment for anyone who allows cult meetings on their property and authorises the demolition of such properties. It is a serious piece of legislation aimed at curbing cult-related violence. But whether it had any connection to a protest about electricity and schools — grievances that predate even Atu's assumption of office as Deputy Speaker in May 2025 — is a question the lawmaker has yet to answer convincingly.
The Coordinator of the Osamwonyi Atu Campaign Organisation, Hon. Martins Ozakpolor, offered a different explanation, alleging that the protesters were sponsored by a rival aspirant seeking to discredit the deputy speaker. He insisted that Atu had delivered on key campaign promises, including the construction of a comprehensive school, and noted that the lawmaker was received by members of the Abudu Elders Council, who offered prayers for the success of his re-election bid.
Atu's Counter-Narrative: Vandals, Not Neglect, Caused the Blackout
In a subsequent interview with Truth Live News on April 27, Atu offered a different account of the power crisis in his constituency. He blamed the prolonged blackout on vandals who had destroyed critical electricity infrastructure. "I promised during my campaign to bring light and development to our people. Though my tenure is not yet up to three years, we have started the project. But we are facing constraints. Some individuals vandalise cables while work was ongoing," he said.
The Benin South Regional Head of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Engr. Henry Dafe, corroborated Atu's vandalism claim. According to Dafe, the power project — which began in 2025 and covered about seven communities — was nearing completion before it was sabotaged. "Thieves damaged key components, including copper wires, lightning arresters and galvanised pipes. The incident caused a major setback to the project which was due for commissioning in December last year," he explained.
Atu also defended his broader legislative record, describing his performance scorecard as "transparent and verifiable." He cited school construction and renovation projects, borehole installations, street and solar lighting, community halls across Abudu, Igbanke and other areas, and the awarding of over 100 scholarships to constituents, including beneficiaries at the University of Benin.
The Political Calculus: Can Atu Survive the Primary?
The protest could not have come at a more perilous time. The APC primary is scheduled for next month, and the spectacle of constituents disrupting a campaign flag-off provides powerful ammunition to any rival aspirant — whether or not, as Ozakpolor alleges, one of them funded the demonstration.
The deputy speaker's dual explanations — blaming both the anti-cultism law and a sponsored rival — may serve different audiences, but they risk undermining each other. To constituents genuinely aggrieved by power outages and an uncompleted school, neither explanation offers solace, let alone a solution. And the viral video of one protester's question — "You are campaigning when there is no light in your constituency?" — continues to circulate on social media, doing damage that no elders' prayer can undo.
The Test of Accountability
The Orhionmwon protest is a reminder that in Nigeria's evolving democracy, the gap between campaign promises and lived reality is narrowing — and constituents are increasingly willing to close it with their feet and their voices. Whether Atu can convince the people of Orhionmwon East that he deserves another four years will depend less on who he blames for the disruption, and more on whether the lights finally come on. For now, the deputy speaker is learning a hard lesson: in politics, there is no anti-cultism law strong enough to silence a constituency that has spent 15 years in the dark.
Stay tuned to Unuevbo TV for more in‑depth reporting on local governance, legislative politics, and community action across Edo State.
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