The Labour Party and the government of Governor Hope Uzodinma are engaged in a war of words over the clamp down on the party’s Imo State secretariat purportedly on the orders of the authorities.
The police has sealed its Secretariat in the State.
The national secretary of the LP, Umar Farouk, on Monday stated that the secretariat was sealed by the police in connivance with the state government.
He said, “the national leadership of the Labour Party is shocked over the Invasion and Occupation of its Secretariat in Owerri, today, Monday April 3, 2023 by the agents of Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, including thugs and unauthorized police men drafted from the government house.
“Such illegal occupation was akin to similar invasion on the same Secretariat on Wednesday March 15, 2023.
“Unlike the March invasion, where no reason was given by the state government on why it took such unlawful action against our political party, this time, they said that the action was due to a Court Order.
”But as at the moment, no such Order to our knowledge was given. No Order has been presented to us by the court or their agents. The Policemen presently occupying our Secretariat have not even shown us the Order. At the moment, all our officials and staff have been barred from accessing the Secretariat.
“We have contacted the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on the ongoing development in the state, and it has been confirmed that the Force is not aware of any security breach whatsoever in the state to warrant the occupation of our Secretariat.
“The Police have also informed us that it has not detailed any of their officers and men to the Labour Party Secretariat in Imo state; and that the officers may have been drafted from the State House in the state.
“The Labour Party however is not unmindful of the efforts of the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma to hijack the leadership of the Party in Imo state.
“These actions have confirmed the information available to us of plots by the governor to plant some surrogates wearing the garments of aspirants in the party. This game plan, as archaic as it seems, has been detected and punctured, the consequences being the aggression unleashed on the party by the state government.
“The leadership of the Labour is determined to bring the needed changes the people of Imo state have yearned since inception of this present dispensation.
“The state has been deprived of good and quality leadership. The resources of the state have being balkanized and liquidated by the administrations in the past. This is in spite of the fact that the state is not lacking in personalities with decent background and pedigree in services to the state.
“Labour Party is therefore assuring the state that it will field as its governorship candidate, a person with proven integrity in both personal and public life; and with OBidient blood running in his/her veins. No amount of intimidation by Governor Hope Uzodimma and his army of thugs will deter the party from fielding and winning the governorship election.
“We therefore call on all the members of the Labour Party and OBidient family in Imo State to be peaceful even in the face of the present provocation as the party will do everything within the books to retrieve our Secretariat from the state security officers and sponsored thugs that are presently occupying our Secretariat.”
In a swift reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Oguwike Nwachuku, said that the allegation was unfounded and urged the party to look elsewhere for the cause of their troubles.
There are indications that some arm twisting is ongoing to stifle the party from presenting a stiff opposition to the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state ahead of the November governorship elect. Part of the tactics is to get the owner of building being used as LP office to ask the occupants to vacate as the place was donated for Obi/Datti Presidential campaign in 2022.
Given its sudden brand new, big image following its performance in the recent general poll, the LP in the state has attracted many big wigs jostling to contest the governorship on its ticket,
