Politics

Tension as Soludo Seals Peter Obi’s Campaign Office, APGA Factional Complex in Anambra

Published

3 months ago

Aug 28, 2024.

James Agbenu

The Anambra State Government has sealed the office of a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Edozie Njoku, located in the Udoka Housing Estate in Awka, Anambra State.

This office also serves as the campaign headquarters for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the state government officials, accompanied by soldiers and police officers, conducted the sealing operation on Tuesday.

This action has triggered various reactions, with Tony Uche Ezekwelu, the South-East National Vice-Chairman of APGA, suggesting that the state government might be threatened by the faction’s rising popularity under Njoku’s leadership.

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The situation exacerbates the existing political tensions in Anambra State, where Governor Charles Soludo supports another APGA faction led by Sly Ezeokenwa. The conflict between these factions has escalated, with the involvement of state machinery adding to the discord.

Ezekwelu has urged the state government to avoid using its authority to suppress opposition, arguing that the sealing of the offices only inflames political tensions in the region. He described the incident, stating, “We arrived this morning to oversee the sale of expression of interest forms for the local government elections scheduled for September 28.

To our surprise, we found state government officials, accompanied by police and military personnel, sealing our office on an order from above.”

He continued, “The justification given was that the area was designated as residential and not for commercial use. We were given no prior notice, and this is our new office, established only two months ago. Many commercial offices, including Nonye Soludo’s Healthy Living, are situated in this area, and it has historically been used by political parties for their campaign offices without prior issues.”

Ezekwelu emphasized that in addition to Obi’s campaign office, previous governorship and presidential candidates had operated from the same building. He lamented the situation, saying, “This is clearly a political maneuver. If there was a violation, we should have received a notice rather than an abrupt, forceful sealing of our office.”

Peter Obi

The National Publicity Secretary of the Governor Soludo-backed APGA, Opara Ejimofor, stated he was unaware of the incident. Governor Soludo’s spokesperson, Christian Aburime, also indicated that the office’s sealing was likely due to a breach of state law and denied any direct involvement by the governor.

“The sealing of properties is handled by relevant agencies in response to legal infractions, not directly by the Anambra State Government or Governor Soludo,” Aburime explained.

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