Opposition parties allege arms build-up ahead Ebonyi gov poll
Tension is rising in Ebonyi State as opposition parties and the All Progressives Congress trade blame over alleged distribution of AK-47 rifles to thugs ahead of Saturday’s governorship poll
The revelation, on Sunday, of the alleged distribution of over 1500 AK-47 rifles to all the polling agents of the All Progressives Congress ahead of Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections has continued to generate tension among opposition politicians and their followers in Ebonyi State.
The Director-General of the Ebonyi Peoples Democratic Party Governorship Campaign Council, Chief Austin Edeze, alleged during a press conference on Sunday that there was a grand plot by the APC agents across the 171 wards in the state to unleash mayhem on voters who were opposed to their governorship candidate, Francis Nwifuru.
He said, “Heaven knows we were robbed in the last election, but we are not going to be robbed again. We already know that they come with violence. We already know what they do and would like to see them repeat it in the next election. We are aware that they have amassed a lot of arms and ammunition.
“We are aware that APC shared AK-47 rifles at the ward level. In fact, reliable information indicates that they officially shared four AK-47 rifles per ward, and if you multiply 4 by 171 wards, you can imagine the number of AK-47 rifles we have in the entire state. Those are the ones distributed officially plus those acquired unofficially, and if you add them up, it means we have over 1500 AK-47 rifles awaiting the coming election by APC.
“Well, an adage has it that the silence of the good keeps the evil multiplying, but we will never be silent to allow the evil to multiply.”
In Ebonyi today, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is familiar with the trending “Wototo” slogan.
The “Wotowo” slogan describes a situation whereby you automatically become vulnerable or susceptible to attacks if you refuse to toe the path of a particular party and its candidates in the state.
Amid the alleged threats of disrupting the forthcoming governorship elections come Saturday and the aftermaths of the February 25 polls, the opposition elements in their last-minute consultations move with trepidation, calling on security agencies to mop up every firearm in the hands of all unauthorised persons in the state.
This, according to them, will give all parties a level playing field and prevent voter apathy during the governorship elections on Saturday.
Two days ago, the All Progressives Grand Alliance equally alleged there was a plot by the ruling party to attack the opposition members and rig the governorship election.
Its governorship candidate, Prof. Benard Odoh, and his supporters were, on Monday, declared wanted by the police in the state, whom Governor David Umahi recently accused of “sitting on the fence.”
The Ebonyi State government had fingered the APGA gubernatorial candidate as being responsible for the murder of the traditional ruler of the Umuezeokaoha community in the Ezza North Local Government Area of the state, HRH (Eze) Igboke Ewa.
Odoh has repeatedly denied the allegation and reiterated that the late monarch was his father and supporter. He also maintained that it would be wicked and ludicrous for anyone to link him to the dastardly incident.
Commenting on the purported plan to attack opposition parties’ faithful in the March 18 polls, the Director, Media and Publicity, of the Ebonyi APGA Governorship Campaign Council, Charles Otu, noted that the unhealthy development was even being revealed by those serving in Umahi’s government.
He, therefore, called on the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies to unravel the truth of the allegations, saying they posed a danger to the electorate ahead of the elections.
Also, a former information commissioner in the state, Chief Abia Onyike, has raised the alarm over possible disruptions of the March 18 governorship polls by the agents of the ruling APC in the state.
According to him, such threats cannot be swept under the rug and treated with levity by security agencies ahead of the election.
He said, “Of a truth, the APC in the state has distributed firearms to their agents because the party wants to win Saturday’s governorshOpposition parties allege arms build-up ahead Ebonyi gov pollip and House of Assembly elections by all means. “It was even revealed by our DG on Sunday that the ruling party plans to unleash mayhem on anybody who comes out on Saturday to vote against its candidates. Everybody, including other parties, is aware of that because we have such information.”
Onyike, who is the Director, Media and Publicity for the Ebonyi PDP Governorship Campaign Council, added, “That’s the truth of the matter because Umahi’s style of governance all along has always been the use of criminals, armed bandits, whom he deployed in various local government areas to terrorise the people, to humiliate the people, and to help him run a government that was designed to oppress the masses.
“The day of reckoning has come in Ebonyi State. The people are ready to further reject him, his party, and all their candidates, as they did in the last election. He, himself even failed woefully in the last election on February 25. “The whole thing was becoming so obvious before him until he began his dubious manipulations of the results with very corrupt INEC officials, who helped him have the results rewritten in his favour.
“The evil plans of the APC government in Ebonyi State to cause mayhem and disrupt the forthcoming governorship elections have been uncovered. The party is not prepared for a democratic competition. Their leaders and chieftains have boasted that anyone who comes out on Saturday and refuses to vote for their party will be killed. This is a terrible and strange development in the history of elections in Nigeria.
“We seize this opportunity to alert the security agencies in the state to forestall the breakdown of law and order because of the excesses of these political gangsters.”
For Ugochukwu Oji, a human rights activist and member of the Old APC Legacy group in the state, the violence, disruptions, snatching of electoral materials, and other irregularities that held sway in the February 25 polls should not be allowed to replicate in the forthcoming March 18 exercise.
While calling on the security agencies to investigate and prosecute those plotting to disrupt the forthcoming polls, the APC member opined that it was undemocratic for people to take laws into their own hands.
According to him, “My prayers for security agencies are for them to beef up adequate security by ensuring more personnel on the ground. This is judging from what happened during the last election, where several reports came up about the APC agents distorting the electoral processes with violence and stealing the ballot materials at different locations. Such should not be allowed to repeat.
Efforts to get the Ebonyi State Police Command to comment on the situation proved futile.
Calls made to the new Commissioner of Police, CP Faleye Olaleye, were not answered. He has also yet to respond to several inquiries sent to his mobile via WhatsApp and SMS as of the time of filing this report on Thursday.
But reacting to the allegation of arms distribution to the APC agents, the Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, APC, Simbad Ogbuatu, explained the opposition parties were afraid of losing the March 18 governorship election, hence the accusations.
“It is very unfortunate that the PDP is scared of the forthcoming governorship election. It is only a party that is scared that will go about accusing the ruling APC of distributing AK-47 rifles.
“It’s even the PDP that has done this; that’s why they even know the number of guns. It’s obvious that they are scared of the election. We in APC believe in our campaign and the rule of law.”
Also, the Chairman of the APC in Ebonyi State, who doubles as the Special Security Consultant to the State Government, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha, denied the allegation, saying it was irresponsible for anyone to accuse his party of procuring arms and ammunition ahead of the March 18 election.
He said, “They (the opposition) have planned to disrupt the election; that’s why they are crying out so that when it happens, they will push it on us. Watch out for what I’m telling you. We have no plans to procure arms. We are reaching out to the people to vote for us. The election of this time is no longer an election of arms; it’s an election of one man, one vote.”
