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…fingers PDP, Ikpeazu
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
A Civil Right Group, Concerned Abia Citizens, said on Thursday, that it has uncovered secret plot by some “disgruntled” elements to destabilize the peace and unity in Abia State during the coming governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
The group said it has alerted the National Security Adviser (NSA), Department of State Security (DSS) and the Police in writing on the plot, thus demanding that they take urgent action to protect the lives and property of Abia people.
Leader of the group, Honest Offor, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja, that some “enemies” have invaded the state and have been strategically positioned to unleash terror on people of the state if they fail to queue behind a particular political party.
He, particularly, accused the state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, of sponsoring the “enemies” with the intention of “forcefully” winning the coming governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
He said: “We have followed very closely the growing atmosphere of intolerance, bigotry and threats to life, which the state chapter of PDP has unleashed on opposition parties in the state since the February 25th election in which they lost.
“We are worried that if not checked, PDP’s desperation and dastardly acts, are capable of truncating peace and derailing democracy in Abia state. In the weeks leading up to the last election, PDP members were spreading hate filled rhetorics and whipping up sentiments to divide voters and cause disaffection in a bid to set one part of the state against the other.
“There have been countless occasions where the campaign billboards of opposition parties have been pulled down, and in fact, the State Signage Agency made it a duty to remove billboards of other political parties even after collecting huge sums as signage permit.
“The desperation of PDP, perhaps, gave way for paranoia when the party was roundly defeated and rejected by Abia people in the Presidential and National Assembly elections. PDP, apparently, suffered its worst defeat in history in that election, and having realized that they have completely lost the trust of the people, the party has decided to engage every trick including violence and mindless rigging, to undermine the integrity of the forthcoming governorship election.”
Mr. Offor also made reference to a recent divisive statement and video recordings attributed to the Managing Director of the Abia State Signage Agency (ABSA), Mr. Tony Otuonye, in which he threatened that they would sacrifice anybody that stands in the way of PDP’s victory in the coming election.
He explained: “Mr. Otuonye, a ranking member of the PDP and a staunch supporter of Mr. Okey Ahaiwe, the governorship candidate of PDP, vowed that they will behead voters and cut off their organs if that is what it will take for PDP to win.
“We want the public to recall that this is typical of PDP’s political violent gimmicks. In 2015 after the Court of Appeal annulled the fraudulent election that brought Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu to office, the PDP sponsored thugs to carry coffins with charms across Aba to intimidate and cow citizens into accepting the illegitimate process that returned Ikpeazu as governor.
“Whilst we are privy to clandestine meetings and attempts to corrupt electoral officers and security agencies, we asked the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to caution INEC staff in Abia State not to allow themselves to be corrupted or procured by the PDP to subvert the outcome of the gubernatorial election, as any attempt to do this will be vehemently resisted.”
He maintained that Abians are ready to pass a verdict on the decades of PDP misrule in Abia on the 18th of March, 2023, and no gimmick will deter or intimidate Abians from once again roundly rejecting and ejecting PDP from the governance of our dear state.
He insisted that every attempt to subvert the wishes and mandate of Abia people will be vehemently resisted using every peaceful and lawful means. “We, therefore, urge citizens to come out en-masse and vote their conscience without fear of intimidation or harassment.”
The group appealed to security agencies to take every necessary action to prevent PDP and their hirelings from carrying out their threats to kills voters, suppress voters or subvert the will of Abia people.
The group alleged that the threat coming from PDP hirelings is a ploy to intimidate, harass and cow voters into staying away from the electoral process so they can have the opportunity to rig the election. “However, in the event of violence, breakdown of law and order or breach of public peace of any kind on the election day, PDP should be held responsible,” he said.
