Local Council Polls: Gov Soludo Seals LP, APGA Offices As APC Shuns Exercise

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Ahead of the September 28 2024 Local Council Election in Anambra, the State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, has gone for the broke.

In one fell swoop, the Governor who had earlier promised a level playing ground for all parties in the election, on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, allegedly  directed the sealing of Labour Party, LP, Anambra State head office.

The headquarters of the factional All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, led by Court proclaimed National Chairman Edozie Njoku, was also sealed by a combined team of Security Agents and Government officials.

The Source reports that Chief Njoku had, last month, been declared as the rightful National Chairman of APGA by a Court of Appeal, Abuja.

Subsequently, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC officially recognized him as the authentic leader of the Party.

But Soludo, who is the only Governor  elected on  the party’s platform, has refused to accept  Njoku as APGA National Chairman.

In the last few weeks, the two have been locked in an intractable battle over the screening of  APGA aspirants for the forthcoming Local Council Elections.

While Chief Njoku has insisted on his faction conducting the exercise, Governor Soludo will not tolerate such development.

The APGA headquarters located at the Udoka Estate in Awka, the Anambra State Capital was said to have been sealed in the wee of hours of Tuesday.

Chief Njoku who has  acknowledged the development, however, promised to respond fully after consulting with other party National officers in Abuja.

“It is true. I got the information this morning that the Party Office in Awka has been sealed  by a Government Agency. So, I am consulting with our National officers.

It is after the consultation that we will decide on the next line of action to take”, the APGA National Chairman stated.

But reacting to the development, the LP Secretary in the State, Okoli Akirika, while confirming the sealing of the state Secretariat,  regretted that such a far reaching action was taken without engaging the officials both through notices and/or warning letters.

He informed that some agents of the State Government, in concert with Security Operatives, stormed the party office, ordered everybody in sight out, and sealed it up.

“It is rather unfortunate, bizarre and brazen that the Anambra state Government is fruitlessly seeking to truncate statutorily emplaced procedure for the selection of Local Government Chairmen and Councilors in the deviously convoluted Council election, is now mindlessly resorting to underhand, illegal and obnoxious intimidation.

“While appealing to the teeming Labour Party members, supporters, sympathisers, stakeholders and Ndi Anambra in general to remain calm, the State Leadership of our great Party shall, as law abiding Anambrarians have recourse to due process to contain and checkmate this unprovoked and untrammeled illegality” the LP stated.

In the main, the state Government has continued to claim ignorance of the fate that befell the two opposition parties.

Dr Obi Ogbolu, Governor Soludo’s Aide on Political Matters, while speaking emphatically denied any knowledge about any sealed Party offices.

“Iam not aware of any attempt to seal party offices in the state, except that someone called to complain that they have been asked to leave their office.

“When asked where I was told at the Udoka Estate,  on enquiry, the Housing Development Corporation said that before now, it had served warning notices to the landlord concerning the conversion of the place to commercial purposes without official approval.

In essence, the Housing Development Corporation said the residential building was converted to commercial purposes. But I am not aware that the place is a party Secretariat”, Ogbolu noted.

The Source further reports that the All Progressive Congress, APC, last week, served notice of its imminent boycott of the Local Council Elections, citing lack of sincerity on the part of Governor Soludo’s administration as a major reason.

The Party had maintained that, it has no  intentions to confer legitimacy on an exercise primed to be mired by manipulations.

The Council polls is coming over a decade since the last exercise was conducted in 2014 under the administration of Peter Obi.

Former Governor Willie Obiano ran the Councils throughout his eight years with appointed  Caretaker Officials.

Governor Sulodo, before now, had maintained the tradition.