Ebonyi APGA petitions Buhari, condemns attacks on supporters

The All Progressives Grand Alliance in Ebonyi State, has petitioned the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd); the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba; amongst others over the alleged attacks and intimidation of its members in the state.

This was as the party condemned Ebubeagu’s renewed attacks on its supporters in the Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state.

The Director of Media and Publicity of APGA Campaign Council, Charles Otu, in a statement on Sunday, alleged that there were fresh plots to destabilise the campaign of the senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South, Ifeanyi Eleje, by suspected Ebubeagu officials.

The statement read in part, “APGA and indeed the Odohzhia Ebonyi campaign council wishes to alert members of the public about this latest schemings and to deposit as follows:

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“That the campaign train of our dear Party- APGA has been the most orderly and peaceful in the State. It is to the point that even when virtually all our candidates’ billboards and posters have been destroyed and defaced, we have since chosen to engage and speak directly to the voters, leaving the agents of government to be destroying inanimate objects like our billboards;

“That contrary to perhaps the expectations of the ruling APC and their army of destructive occupation, our campaign messages have already deeply penetrated the entire nooks and crannies of Afikpo North and indeed the entire Ebonyi South.

“This, we are aware greatly miffs the ruling APC who instead of engaging the electorates directly have been deceiving the Ebonyi public with it’s style of exporting it’s scanty supporters from one Local Government Area to another just to form a ‘rented crowd’ to impress the governor and then deceive particularly non-residents of the State and those who may not be aware that they are not on ground and have since been rejected by the majority of Ebonyi electorates.

“That we call on the police authorities in Ebonyi, particularly the Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, to immediately and unconditionally release the said Amobi Ujah, investigate the entries and petitions already made by our supporters in the area and beyond, arrest and to also arrest and prosecute all the illegally-armed and government-sponsored Ebubeagu operatives trying to cause tension and crises in the area.”

It added, “The police should invite the council chairman for proper interrogations on his roles and those of his boys before the once-peaceful LGA turns into a theatre of war like its neighbouring Afikpo South, Onicha and Ohaozara LGAs where Governor Umahi’s armed paramilitary Ebubeagu militia has successfully caused to be engulfed in serious crises.

“That nothing, we repeat, NOTHING should happen to Mr. Okogwu, our Senatorial candidate, any members of the families or any of our stakeholders and supporters in Afikpo North LGA.

“The threats against them and the alarms raised in this press statement should be thoroughly investigated by the various security agencies as we cannot afford to lose a soul’s hair in the 2023 elections through the desperate and dastardly activities of an illegal and outlawed outfit like Ebubeagu.”