Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned that it would no longer tolerate acts of harassment and intimidation against its members and officials by the state governor, Dave Umahi.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by its publicity secretary, Barrister Silas Onu, the party described an alleged directive by the state governor to local government councils across the state to confiscate official vehicles of the party in the state as the highest show of political intolerance.
It warned that the state was sliding into anarchy and urged the relevant security agencies to take necessary steps to avert a breakdown of law and order. Full text of the statement reads:
“All security agencies and the international community are hereby put in notice that the government of Ebonyi State has given an order to the executive chairmen of local government areas in the State to seize the official vehicles of PDP chairmen in LGAs where such party leaders have refused to defect with the governor. This is a call to anarchy as these buses are not the property of Ebonyi State Government and cannot be treated as such.
To attempt forcefully confiscating the property of a political party is the highest show of political intolerance and a demonstration of lack of regard for democracy.
The People’s Democratic Party condemns, in totality, this call to anarchy and outright invitation for crisis. It is enough that our state secretariat has been unlawfully sealed.
In the same vein, the government has also directed that political parties in Ebonyi State must seek permission and approval from local government chairmen before holding their political meetings. This is unimaginable; it is unbelievable that it is happening in a democratic nation. Is this political censoring? Since when has part of Nigeria become under a military or dictatorial rule? This is a clear sign of failure of democratic governance. We call on the governor to desist from planting the seed of destroying democracy in Nigeria or any part thereof. No political party requires the permission of any other political party in order to hold their political meetings. We know that this directive is targeted at the PDP meeting scheduled to hold in Edda and we are not deterred by this clear act of intimidation.
Finally, the use of official security details to intimidate perceived political opponents is condemnable and we call on the Inspector General of Police to call all policemen in the Governor’s detail to order with immediate effect.
No leader will seek to stop a philanthropist from distributing food and clothes to the needy. The deployment of soldiers and ADC to the Governor in a desperate bid to truncate the charitable event hosted by the Ebere & Anyi Chuks Foundation in Isu the 1st January, 2021 is unbecoming and uncharitable. This trend is becoming a permanent feature in Ebonyi State as official intimidation seems to be the best form of governance.
We have all spent the holiday with harassment on a daily basis and needless acts of overt intimidation and we have phone messages urging violence and attacks on harmless citizens who aren’t of the same political party with the Governor.
Our evidence abound, and we are still collecting more for a robust and factual petition to the President and all foreign leaders; no one will be allowed to drag Ebonyi State into crisis. We are peace loving, but will naturally defend ourselves if pushed to the wall. Let the security agencies take note and be on the alert. To be forewarned is to be forearmed”.
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