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The Ebonyi State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has alerted security agencies to plans by unnamed persons to unleash violence on his running mate, Patrick Mgbebu.
Odii chose Mgbebu a fortnight ago as his running mate for the 8 February 2027 gubernatorial election in the state. Mgbebu is the immediate past representative of Ebonyi State in the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Committee (RMFAC) and a former member of the state House of Assembly.
Recall that Governor Francis Nwifuru, who assured the Ezza clan, from which the PDP governorship running mate hails, that his successor would be from the clan, had earlier in the year allegedly rejected suggestions from stakeholders to renew Mgbebu’s appointment at the RMFAC, even as he (Nwifuru) was said to be considering appointing Mgbebu as the Commissioner of Works in the state.
He said, moved by the sound credentials of the former RMFAC commissioner, the PDP governorship hopeful accepted the recommendations of Ebonyi PDP stakeholders to name Mgbebu as his deputy.
But Odii said not long after nominating Mgbebu as the PDP deputy governorship candidate, some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly held a nocturnal meeting in Abakaliki, where plans were hatched to target the PDP governorship running mate, Mgbebu.
Spokesman for the PDP governorship candidate, Emmanuel Igwe, in a statement yesterday, disclosed that the conspirators planned to attack Mgbebu immediately he returns to Abakaliki from Abuja and subsequently frame the dastardly incident as an internal disagreement within the PDP governorship campaign organisation.
Igwe said: “Of particular concern is the alleged attempt to create, through social media narratives, the impression that such an incident could have arisen from an internal struggle over the deputy governorship position or from disagreements involving members of the campaign organisation, including a fellow Ezza lawyer, Emmanuel Ikechukwu Nwobo, who is a known supporter of the Anyichuks Gubernatorial Campaign.”
Odii said he is particularly concerned that political disagreements could be allowed to degenerate into actions capable of endangering lives or undermining the democratic process.
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He declared that politics should be about ideas, programmes, records and the presentation of manifestos to the electorate, stressing that where those in government have a record to defend, the appropriate response to political opposition is to present that record before the people and allow the electorate to make its choice at the ballot box freely.
Odii stated that it is because he considers the reports sufficiently serious that he decided to bring them to the attention of the general public, relevant security agencies and the international community, urging that the allegations be thoroughly investigated and that the safety of Barr Mgbebu, members of the campaign council, supporters and all political actors in Ebonyi State be protected.
While tasking all political parties, governorship as well as other candidates, supporters, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and security agencies to work together to ensure a peaceful election, the PDP governorship candidate stated: “The people of Ebonyi State deserve an election conducted in an atmosphere of peace, freedom and security. Nobody should be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of his or her political affiliation.
“Chief Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii therefore calls on the security agencies to take the reported allegations seriously, investigate their origin and establish whether any individual or group is planning violence against members of the PDP campaign or any other political organisation.
“Should anything happen to Patrick Mgbebu, any member of the campaign council, or any supporter of our campaign, we urge investigators to examine every credible lead, including the allegations and information concerning the reported meeting and the narratives allegedly being circulated to create an appearance of an internal political dispute.
“Let it also be clearly noted that Chief Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii is a committed democrat, who believes in the supremacy of the ballot box and will continue to pursue his political ambition through constitutional and democratic means.
“We will not allow the hard-won democratic freedoms of Nigerians to be undermined by political violence. Ebonyi State must not return to the era when political disagreements were settled through intimidation, violence or political killings.”
