2023 election: Tragedy averted as PDP, APGA clash over billboards in Abia

UMUAHIA- A clash over destruction of campaign billboards which would have led to the death of scores of supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia state and its All Progressives Grand Alliance , APGA, counterpart , was yesterday, averted in Umuahia.

Sources told Vanguard that supporters of the PDP stormed the area to fix their campaign materials when they were confronted by men alleged to be supporters of the APGA governorship candidate, Prof. Greg Ibe.

The two political parties have exchanged allegation over who attacked and destroyed campaign materials of the other in the area.

One of the spokesmen of the PDP campaign organization, Chief Uche Aguoru, alleged that APGA supporters attacked PDP men who were fixing campaign materials at Okpara square.

The PDP campaign spokesman said thugs numbering over 10, suddenly appeared from the campaign office of the APGA governorship candidate, Prof. Greg Ibe, wielding machetes and other dangerous weapons and attacked the men fixing PDP campaign banners and destroyed the materials. He further said they also threatened to kill anybody who tried to stop them.

He said; “PDP members who came to fix their campaign banners at the former Umuahia main market, Okpara square were attacked by thugs numbering over ten who came from the campaign office of the APGA governorship candidate and destroyed their campaign materials

They wielded machetes, clubs, and other dangerous weapons and attacked the men fixing PDP campaign banners and destroying the iron works and the flex banners already mounted, they also threatened to kill anybody who tried to stop them. It took the intervention of men of the Police to get the situation under control. The thugs on sighting the police ran into Prof. Greg Ibe’s campaign office.”

Aguoru disclosed that the PDP has a written permit from the Abia State Signage and Advertising Agency, ABSAA, to mount the party’s campaign billboards in the area and queried why APGA would want to stop it from fixing campaign materials.

However, reacting to the incident, the Prof. Greg Ibe Media Associates, PRO-GIMA, in a statement, claimed it had nothing to with the incident, and alleged that a group of yam vendors who usually hawk their wares around the Okpara Square had a misunderstanding with PDP agents who tried to deface the fence area of the facility.

The statement explained that the vendors were protesting attempts by agents of the PDP to barricade their wares and covering existing banners of other candidates with more imposing PDP banners.

“We hereby write to refute the allegation of involvement in any form of fracas with agents of the PDP. Being a people focused grassroots movement we have continued to champion the cause of issue based politicking while shunning every temptation by the PDP to lower our standards by joining them in their infamous style of uncouth politics fraught with crass incivility. To put the records straight, the Prof Gregory Ibe Campaign Organization knows nothing about the incident referenced by the article in question.

“Rather than resorting to the PDP’s deceptive scheme of crying wolf, Prof Gregory Ibe and his Abia APGA team continue to evolve more strategies aimed at providing paid employment, free education and free healthcare to Abians.”