By Amaka Okafor
The Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has raised alarm over an alleged plot by Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of the party’s state secretariat in Abakaliki, the state capital.
The party described the alleged move as a dangerous threat to democracy, opposition politics and constitutional rule in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Addressing journalists during a press conference in Abakaliki on Monday ,the party led by the state Chairman Chukwuma Igwe; State Secretary, Henry Ngonu; and State Publicity Secretary, Prince Darlington Onwe claimed that Governor Nwifuru had informed officials of the All Progressives Congress of plans to revoke the party’s property documents, stressing that such action would amount to political victimisation.
The opposition party called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police, the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Independent National Electoral Commission to urgently intervene and call the governor to order
The PDP leadership accused the Ebonyi State government of allegedly deploying state resources in the last two years to suppress opposition voices through intimidation, arrests and trumped-up charges.
According to the party, “The Ebonyi State Government has devoted public resources to emasculate dissenting voices, especially opposition political parties and particularly the PDP in the state.”
The PDP further stated: “Political parties are integral parts of the building blocks of democracy. Any attack on political parties is not just undemocratic, but an affront on our nascent democracy and rule of law.”
The party also reminded the governor that he rose politically on the platform of the PDP, noting that he served as a member and two-time Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly under the party before defecting to the APC in 2021.
“It is unfortunate that Governor Nwifuru seems to want to become the proverbial river that forgot its source,” the party stated.
The PDP, however, vowed not to be intimidated, insisting that it would deploy all constitutional and legal means to protect its members, its rights and democracy in Ebonyi State.
