A former aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in the May 24, 2022 House of Assembly primaries in Enugu State, Mr Akaolisa Ogbe, has narrated how he survived an assassination attempt on his life by suspected political rivals.
Ogbe, who battled for his life for 38 days in the hospital, had bought forms to contest the ticket of the party for the Enugu South Rural State Constituency but he didn’t participate in the exercise because of his situation. He regretted that not even the party he sought its platform to represent his people cared or asked about him.
He told Signature TV that only the grace of God saved him from the assassin’s bullets and the experience would be permanently engraved in his life.
The aspirant from Amechi Awkunawnaw in Enugu South Local Government Area of the state, said that the incident occurred on April 16, 2022, during one of his routine ward visitations.
According to him, he had completed the visitation of nine wards in his constituency and proceeded to purchase fuel in one of the petrol stations in the area.
“I was attacked while buying fuel in Amechi. It was a calculated assassination attempt but to the glory of God, I escaped with gun wounds and gunshots pelted all over my car.
“I was bleeding profusely but managed to drive to a military checkpoint. By the time I got there, I was already weak and had to stop.
“The military men took me to Niger Foundation Hospital, Enugu, where I had the first surgery to stop the bleeding,” he said.
While in the hospital, Ogbe said he underwent several surgeries due to the seriousness of the injuries he sustained from the gunshots.
He, however, said that it was sad that in spite of the deadly attack on him, the leadership of the PDP in the state had not shown any form of concern over the incident.
“My annoyance is that I spent more than 38 days in the hospital and the party did not care about me, their aspirant.
“If the party could treat me like this, what more the common man? I could not participate in the primaries because I was on hospital admission,” he said.
Ogbe said that in spite of the disappointing treatment he got from the party, “I still remain a member of the PDP and will work for the success of the party in the 2023 general election.
