Kogi state: Bello’s LG boss sacks PDP from campaign office

Days after a local government chairman in Kogi state placed a ban on campaigns by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP, another local government chief executive has ordered the PDP to vacate the Barr. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Campaign Office for security reasons.

Chairman, Okene Local Government, Abdulrazak Yusuf in a letter dated 26th October 2022 and addressed to the Okene LGA Chairman of the PDP gave the opposition party a one-week notice to vacate the building.

The state governor, Yahaya Bello hails from the local government.

Checks by Saturday Vanguard showed that the said building was purchased by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan in 2020 from the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, His Majesty, Dr Ado Ibrahim and only recently donated it to the party for its activities in the lead up to next year’s general election.

In a swift reaction, the PDP has described the purported quit notice as a violation of its inalienable rights to own landed property in any part of the Federation, saying the council chairman has no powers to evict it.

PDP said its campaign office is just adjacent the Abubakar Ohere (APC) Senatorial Campaign office, wondering why Ohere’s opponent would be asked to vacate the premises when the APC candidate is operating from the same area.

Okene LG PDP Chairman, Mallam Ibrahim Adabara in a letter to the council boss which was copied to relevant agencies and the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, His Majesty, Dr Ado Ibrahim said the PDP does not pose a threat to any infrastructure.

Part of the letter reads; “Our Party Secretariat does not in any way pose any security threat to any infrastructure in the area, particularly the Okene Central Mosque and the Council Secretariat as captured in your letter. The infrastructures under reference are state assets that benefit all the good people of Okene, our members inclusive and we accordingly urge you sir to jettison the unwarranted security concern by the Peace and Security Committee which we consider with greatest respect to be politically motivated for selfish political gain.

“Furthermore sir, the said letter with all intent and purpose, is tantamount to usurping and depriving us and our members of the constitutional rights to own landed property anywhere in Nigeria as well as depriving us the right to political participation and peaceful assembly well captured and guaranteed under sections 43 and 40 respectively of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. These rights have been held inviolable in replete cases by the courts of the land.

“Assuming but without conceding that the said property poses the imaginary security threat as captured in your letter, we are bewildered that the same notice was not extended to the Campaign Office of the APC senatorial candidate which was recently acquired and is directly opposite the Police Station and the market in the same location. If there’s any structure that poses any sort of security threat, it is that of the APC senatorial candidate campaign office and not ours. As such, you may direct the notice to the appropriate building if you still consider that there is a need to issue such notice.

“We as a political party and a lawful institution have always worked and will continue to work to strengthen the security architecture of Okene, Kogi Central Senatorial District and Nigeria at large. We hold the strong view that the ultimatum issued by your goodself has to be reconsidered as it is capable of leading to breach of the relative peace we have all witnessed and enjoying in Okene. We reject the said ultimatum in its entirety as it is a cloak to intimidate, coerce and overawe us in order to hamper our political activities in this electoral season, an attempt we will resist within the confines of the law”.

Also, a support group within the PDP in the state, the ‘Ovidi Family’ has described the development as the last kicks of a dying horse.

The ultimatum, according to the group, did not come as a surprise, saying rather, it served to highlight the desperate nature of “the politics of APC and the prevailing belief that the APC is uneasy about its dwindling support in the Kogi Central Senatorial District”.

The statement from the media office of the group reads; “The Ovidi Family is taken aback by the Okene Local Government Chairman, Abdulrazak Yusuf, who is acting at the Governor, Yahaya Bello’s whims and caprices, to demand that the proposed PDP secretariat in Kogi Central be evacuated within a week.

“Before the repair project, the aforementioned building was abandoned, littered with trash, and a possible gathering place for drug peddlers and criminal syndicates. After being put to good use, the Chairman and his navigator should specify how the building now constitutes a security threat to the Central Mosque and the Local Government Secretariat.

“Its only a jittery party that would issue such a ridiculous decree while hiding under the pretext of a threat to ‘critical infrastructures’. Several political activities, including those approved by the APC, have taken place in that area without damaging the concerned infrastructures, but they want to dissuade the public from believing that they are trying to stymie the PDP’s rising popularity.

“We shall employ every legitimate means to resist the oppression, utilize our proposed Secretariat peacefully and go on to win the elections in a landslide for Barr. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and other candidates of the Party”.

The Kogi Central Senatorial Election is a two-horse race between rights activist and social entrepreneur, Barr. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the PDP and Abubakar Ohere, an erstwhile commissioner in Gov. Bello’s cabinet, and who has his stromg backing.

In the quit notice served on the PDP, the Okene LG Chairman noted that the proximity of the proposed PDP secretariat is a threat to some critical infrastructures like the Ebira Central Mosque and the Council Secretariat.

In the letter titled, ‘Peace and Security Committee Resolution and Ultimatum to PDP to vacate your proposed Party Secretariat in Okene’, the LG boss said his action was purely based on security consideration and must not be misconstrued otherwise.

Part of the letter reads; “As part of measure to rejig our security architecture, you are by this notice given one week to vacate your proposed party (PDP) secretariat in Okene.

“The decision was informed by what the security committee considered as the proximity of your proposed party secretariat as a threat to some critical infrastructures like: the Ebira Central Mosque and the Council Secretariat which when the political activities heat up it will distort the peaceful activities in this vicinity.

“Let me state emphatically that, the council is not taking this decision as a ploy to dabble into your party affairs and our action must not be misconstrued as such”.

The letter was copied to the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, His Majesty, Dr. Ado Ibrahim CON, the Police Area Commander in Okene, the Divisional Police Officer in Okene, Officer in Charge of the State Security Service SSS in Okene, the Commander, Nigerian Army Forward Operating Base FOB, Okene, the District Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, Okene and the Officer in Charge, State Investigation Bureau, Okene.

On 10th October, 2022, the Chairman of neighbouring Okehi Local Government Area, Abdulraheem Ohiare had in a statement placed a ban on all PDP rallies and ward meetings in the Ihima district of the local government.

Ohiare had accused the PDP in the area of singing abusive songs against the state governor during one of its processions in Ihima.