Imo: APC Accuses Opposition Of Supporting Non-State Actors To Destabilize State

By Charles Igbo

The All Progressives Congress, APC. Imo State Chapter, has accused the opposition in the State of supporting non State actors in a bid to destabilize the State.

The APC, particularly, accused the main opposition Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of not only supporting non-state actors, but alleged that it was sponsoring the violence and blood shed in Imo, and knew  more than it is giving out.

These allegations were contained in a Press statement issued by Cajetan Duke, the Party’s State Publicity Secretary. It is a consequence of the controversy and uproar which have  dogged the killing of  some youths in Otulu in the Awommama area of the State penultimate Sunday.

While the Directorate of State Services, DSS,  say the youths were killed during an operation in a bandits’ camp in the area where they had assembled to plan an attack and enforcement of sit-at-home the next day, the popular version in the opposition camp in the State is that they were innocent youths, killed on their way back from a traditional wedding of one of them.

This version was given wings by the alleged groom and alleged eye witnesses who insist that there was no operation by the DSS. Instead, they allege, the youths were killed by operatives of Ebubeagu, a State-backed security outfit which, also, operates in other States in the South-east, it’s establishment having been approved by the South-east Governors, and operates just like the Amotekun in the South-west.

Since then, nothing has remained the same in Imo State. The opposition is riding on the incident, and has accused the State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, of sending Ebubeagu operatives to kill innocent youths. They have dubbed the Governor a murderer, and described him in all sorts of unflattering colors, including blood-dripping emojis.

Not a few people are worried over the dimension the incident hS taken. Some Youths have taken to blocking the Awommama-Owerri road, they have banned Ebubeagu   from operating in the area, and declared the Head of the outfit wanted. Not a few people also worry that the incident has been politicized, and think it’s politicization is deliberate to  destroy the Governor’s image and destabilize the State. The APC agrees, and is asking questions.

In the statement the APC said: ” It is rather ridiculous that the PDP, unfortunately, portrays itself as number one sponsors of insecurity in Imo State by their overt and covert support and sympathy for bandits terrorizing Communities in Imo State.”

The party wondered why the PDP has discarded the statement by the DSS, and instead, remain hell bent on putting the rope on Governor Uzodinma’s neck.

Said the statement: “The PDP has not only refused to believe the DSS report, it has continued to manufacture and spread its own report. And, we ask: What does the PDP know that we don’t know? What does the PDP know that the DSS does not know? Does the PDP mean that it is privy to the activities of bandits in the State, and know them one by one? Is it true that the PDP houses many people who are either members of the outlawed IPOB or, that it is in league with the bandits? Could PDP have raised a militia arm of its youth wing under the cover of Unknown Gun Men?”

Following is the full text of the statement by the APC.

POLITICAL BANDITRY IN IMO AHEAD OF 2023 ELECTIONS BY OPPOSITION PARTIES SHALL FAIL

“The attention of the Hon. McDonald Ebere-led All Progressives Congress, APC, in Imo State has been drawn to a troubling discovery that opposition political parties in the State have adopted political banditry ahead of the 2023 general elections. This is betrayed by their renewed,  sponsored media hostilities against the people oriented administration of His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, targeted at undermining the unprecedented, historical milestones of the Government, and by lending support to non state actors against the wishes of the generality of Imo people.

“It is regrettable that in spite of concerted and appreciable efforts of the Uzodimma led APC Government to rid our State of criminality and insecurity occasioned by the unfortunate politics of banditry adopted by opposition political parties, particularly the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, the deliberate attempt by the opposition PDP, to institutionalize terror and insecurity as instruments for the advancement of their selfish, diabolic political ambitions, is not only despicable but also ungodly.

“It is rather ridiculous that the PDP unfortunately portrays itself as number one sponsors of insecurity in Imo State by their overt and covert support and sympathy for bandits terrorizing communities in Imo State. We find it disturbing that a reputable security agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria like the Department of State Security, DSS, issued a statement that it carried out a security operation last Sunday leading to the arrest and death of the bandits, yet the PDP does not believe the credible report of the DSS. The PDP has not only refused to believe the DSS report, it has continued to manufacture and spread its own report. And we ask, what does the PDP know that the we don’t know? What does the PDP know that the DSS does not know? Does the PDP mean that it is privy to the activities of bandits in the state and know them one by one? Is it true that the PDP houses many people who are either members of the outlawed IPOB or that it is in league with the bandits? Could PDP have raised a militia arm of its youth wing under the cover of Unknown Gun Men?

“The position of the PDP on the Otulu incident leaves much to be desired. And it should be telling the DSS and Nigerians at large what it knows that others don’t know.

“The Imo State PDP has outlived its usefulness and that is why Imo people rejected it since 2011, but the party wants to return to power riding on banditry. Imo people are intelligent people and they cannot allow this to happen. The PDP remains rejected and no amount of support to or  allegiance with non state actors will bring them back to Douglas House.

“The PDP is now a stinking stench to the Imo public.  It is now an enemy of the people. Its present stand on the Otulu killings is laughable and has exposed their underbelly.

“Igbo people have value for human lives and playing politics with insecurity and people’s lives is not only blasphemous, it is an act Igbo people cannot condone. The PDP knows this for a fact. The party knows the position in the  state that it cannot win elections anymore. No amount of banditry will change the people’s verdict.

“Therefore, we are surprised that  PDP is using a character like Hon. Uche Onyeagucha as its lynchpin to whitewash it’s rotten name. For those  who may not know, Onyeagucha was the man that in the processes of the March 9, 2019 governorship election, rushed to the INEC table, grabbed the result sheets and tore them to shreds. He was arrested, detained and prosecuted. He was also the man that PDP used to stage illegal and violent protests against the judgement of the Supreme Court court of Nigeria. No wonder he was compensated with a dead on arrival senatorial ticket of PDP. Today, the same man is the one leading the campaign of calumny against the State Government, but he too, like his party, shall fail.

“While we are confident that the  blackmail and propaganda against the APC led government in Imo State by the uninspiring, disorganized and disoriented opposition, PDP, we are also confident that no amount of falsehood can eclipse the monumental infrastructural strides of the shared prosperity administration of governor Uzodimma.

“Furthermore, as the Government continues in its primary responsibility to make the state safe for our people, devoid of intimidation and harassment of any sort, Imo APC, reiteartes its commitment to a peaceful, harmonious and economic prosperous state.”