The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, of staging a desperate charade to mislead President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement on Tuesday, PDP Caretaker Committee Publicity Secretary, Chris Osa Nehikhare, described the gathering at the Festival Hall of Government House as a shameful attempt to fabricate defections within the PDP.

Nehikhare said Okpebholo assembled impostors and falsely presented them as elected PDP Local Government Council Chairmen decamping to the APC.

“For the record, no PDP chairman has defected,” Nehikhare said. “The people paraded are illegal appointees of Okpebholo; political stooges with no mandate or legitimacy.”

He accused Okpebholo of trying to deceive the President and the APC leadership into believing he still holds political ground in Edo.

“This is a desperate play for presidential approval ahead of the judicial verdicts on the mandate we believe he stole,” Nehikhare declared. “We urge President Tinubu and all Nigerians not to be deceived by these charlatans. What happened today was not politics, it was a content creation stunt for social media. Okpebholo seems ready for a career as a TikToker once his brief and illegitimate stint as governor ends.”

The PDP also released a photograph showing all its council chairmen together, reaffirming their loyalty to the party.

The drama comes as both parties await the outcome of a legal battle over the governorship election. The PDP insists the case is now before the courts and warned that no amount of stagecraft will change the facts.

As of press time, Okpebholo and his media team had yet to respond.