Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has denied having a hand in the continued closure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state head office in Abakaliki, the capital of the state.
He was reacting to a statement credited to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who accused him of holding on to the party’s secretariat located on the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway despite having left the party over a year ago.
But Umahi in a statement said he knows nothing about the secretariat as he did not leave with any of the party’s belongings when he defected to the All Progressives Congress in December 2020.
The secretariat has been under lock and key since the governor’s defection with security agents posted to guard the place.
The PDP had consistently accused the state government of frustrating moves made to take over the secretariat; an allegation the state government continues to deny.
Atiku had on Thursday urged governor Umahi to return the PDP secretariat to them and also called on the governor to immediately release the publicity secretary of the party, Nwoba Chika Nwoba, who was being remanded in police custody for alleged fake news and cybercrime.
He made the statement on Thursday through the Chairman of the Technical Committee for the Actualization of Atiku Abubakar Presidential Election, Reymond Dokpesi, during a consultation visit to PDP, Ebonyi State.
The meeting held at the Salt Lake Hotel, which serves as the temporary state secretariat of the party.
He said: “I remember vividly when I came here on two, three occasions. The first one was when I was contesting for chairman of the party. This governor met me at Abuja after I have visited here to plead with me to step down for the chairmanship race for the overall interest of the party and in the overall interested of the federal government.
“This same man did not have sufficient patience when it comes to his own personal ambition of becoming the president. He moved in brutal manner, took the secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party. That is a very heinous act; that is the height of brutality and wickedness.
“And I call on him to at this point in time return the Secretariat to the PDP. Let me also call on him to immediately release the PDP officer whom he has taken to court with trumped up charges.
“We are all supposed to be democratic, not tyrants. People have a right to different opinions and must not be incriminated and dealt with in such heinous manner.”
He called on members of the People’s Democratic Party in the state to remain resilient.
“I believe very shortly you will be hearing some good news for the headquarters of this very party. This maltreatment cannot be sustained.”
Mr Dokpesi also said he was in the state on behalf of Atiku Abubakar to consult with them and appreciate the support given to him in 2018 during the PDP presidential primaries in Port Harcourt 2018.
He also thanked them for giving him about 70 per cent of the total votes cast in the 2019 general elections.
But Governor Umahi in a response on Saturday said the party should go and look for its property and stop tagging him in its issues.
Umahi in a statement issued by his media aide, Francis Nwaze, said the Ebonyi State Government was aware that the PDP in Ebonyi State has a shelter in one ‘Green Lake Hotel’ in Abakaliki from where it operates.
Continuing, he said: “The People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State should make efforts to first find the location of its Secretariat without involving the focused administration of Governor David Umahi; that is if it has a Secretariat as we are not aware of where they have permanent Secretariat in their name.
“That when Governor David Umahi left the party in November 2020, he did not leave with even a pin belonging to the party.
“That so long as we understand that the continued reference to Governor Umahi by the PDP long after his exit is a sign that the party misses his astute leadership acumen, we appeal to the party to please find a soft landing as Governor Umahi has since moved on in his progressive march to el dorado.”
On the continued detention of the spokesperson of the PDP, Nwoba Chika Nwoba, Umahi said he could not say much on the matter because it was already in court.
He however noted that “the said Nwoba Chika, to the best of our knowledge, is in the web of the police and court for defaulting a valid law”.
“That we are constrained to make further comments on the case of Nwoba Chika hence; his case is now pending in a court of competent jurisdiction.
“That the embattled Nwoba and his political party have the leeway to prove themselves innocent through the court process instead of tempting the state government to meddle in contempt of the court.”
