By Kenneth Onuoha
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has accused the Governor of Ebonyi state, David Umahi of plotting to “assassinate some political leaders and members of the party” in the state.
The governor recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the PDP, leading to a misunderstanding between him and his former political allies in the state.
This allegation was contained in a statement made available to the media, by Chief Ali Odefa, (the acting national vice chairman of the PDP), in Enugu.
He said it was worrisome that a governor, who is supposedly the chief security officer of the state, could “blatantly threaten the lives of citizens of his own state even when there is no aggression to suggest a war in the state.
“We at the PDP, particularly note with serious concern, the specific listing of our party leaders, Including their Excellencies, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, former president of the senate and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF); Senator Sam Ominyi Egwu, the first executive governor of Ebonyi state, and lawmaker representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District in the Senate; Senator Obinna Ogba, the lawmaker representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial District in the Senate and Hon. (Chief) Ali Odefa, the National Vice Chairman, Southeast of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and many other leaders of our party whom, by Governor Umahi’s utterances, he may have already marked for assassination in Ebonyi State.”
Odefa said the alarm raised by Governor Umahi, “is totally baseless as there is no political crisis in Ebonyi state, there is no immediate election contest in Ebonyi state, in fact, there is no situation that warrants the kind of threat he issued in Ebonyi State.
“It is a common knowledge that Governor Umahi and his family remain the major beneficiaries of the support of the PDP and these same PDP leaders whom he has suddenly branded promoters of cultism in Ebonyi; each of these leaders played prominent roles in making Umahi a successful politician and governor of Ebonyi state.
“On the unfounded and infantile allegations Governor Umahi has levelled against the aforementioned leaders of the PDP in Ebonyi state, the questions the world should be asking Umahi is at what point did he realize that I, Chief Ali Odefa and other leaders he so maligned with his baseless allegation, were promoters of IPOB and cultism?
“Could it have been in 2007 when I started working closely with him, first as Special Assistant (while he was the Chairman of the PDP, Ebonyi state) or during the well known struggle to make him a governor in 2014/2015 election season? Or could it have been at the inception of his government in 2015, when I served in his government as the SSA Internal Security? Or perhaps between 2016 and early 2020 when I served as the SSA Infrastructural Maintenance in his government?
“It is instructive to call attention of Nigerians to the sinister scheme that the governor is planning which he has hiden under the cloak of “allegation” that leaders of the PDP in Ebonyi state were sponsors of cultists and IPOB; Umahi has concluded plans to embark on a massive political witch-hunt and assassination spree in Ebonyi state with leaders of the PDP being his primary targets!
“It is important to let the entire world and specifically, Governor Umahi know that the PDP has since moved on after his lone wolf decamping from our great party to his new party, the APC and we happily urge him to move on and focus on playing his politics in the APC. It is not possible for him to be in the APC and run the affairs of the PDP in Ebonyi state. We will deploy every legal arsenal to protect the sovereignty of our party, the PDP from meddlesome interlopers.
“The PDP is a firm believer in the freedom of choice of individuals. We, therefore, urge Governor Umahi to “live and let live” in Ebonyi state, as we strongly call on him to abandon his evil plans of labeling our supporters “cultists” and “IPOB” as a bait to incite security agencies against our members.