Umahi, Atiku Bicker Over Arrest Of PDP Spokesperson, Party Secretariat

Ebonyi Governor David Umahi has debunked having a hand in the continued closure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Head office in Abakaliki.

He was reacting to a statement credited to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar
who accused him of holding on to the party’s secretariat located along the Abakaliki-Enugu expressway despite having left the party over a year ago.

Umahi, in a statement, said he knew nothing about the secretariat as he did not leave with any of the party’s belongings when he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2020.

The secretariat has been under lock and key since the Governor’s defection with security agents posted to guard the place.

The PDP had consistently accused the State Government of frustrating moves to take over the Secretariat an allegation the State Government continues to deny.

Atiku on Thursday urged Governor Umahi to return to the PDP secretariat.

Atiku, the 2019 presidential candidate of the PDP, also called on the Governor to immediately release the Publicity Secretary of the party, Nwoba Chika Nwoba, who has been remanded in police custody for alleged fake news and cybercrime.

He spoke through the chairman of the Technical Committee for the actualisation of the Atiku Abubakar presidential election, Dr Raymond Dokpesi during a consultation visit to PDP, Ebonyi State.

The meeting was held at the Salt Lake Hotel which serves as the temporary secretariat of the party.

He said: ” I remember vividly when I came here on two, three occasions, the first one was when I was contesting for chairman of the party, the Engineer, this Governor met me at Abuja after I have visited here to plead with me to step down for the chairmanship race for the overall interest of the party and in the overall interested of the federal government.

“This same man did not have sufficient patience when it comes to his own personal ambition of becoming the president, he moved in a brutal manner took the Secretariat the People’s Democratic Party, that is a very heinous act, that is the height of brutality and wickedness.

“And I call on him to at this point in time return the Secretariat to the PDP. Let me also call on him to immediately release the PDP officer whom he has taken to Court with trumped-up charges, we are all supposed to be democratic not tyrants. People have a right to a different opinion and most no be incriminated and dealt with in such heinous manner,” he said.

He called on members of the PDP in the State to remain resilient.

“I believe very shortly you will be hearing some good news for the headquarters of this very party, this maltreatment can not be sustained.”

But Umahi in response on Saturday said the party should go and look for its property and stop tagging him in its issues.

The Governor, in a statement by his media aide, Francis Nwaze, said Ebonyi State Government “is aware the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi State has a shelter in one ‘Green Lake hotel’ in Abakaliki from where it operates.

“The People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State should make efforts to first find the location of its Secretariat without involving the focused administration of Governor David Umahi, that is if it has a Secretariat as we are not aware of where they have permanent Secretariat in their name”.

“That when Governor David Umahi left the party in November 2020, he did not leave with even a pin belonging to the Party”

“That so long as we understand the continued reference to Governor Umahi by the PDP long after his exit, is a sign that the Party misses his astute leadership acumen, we appeal to the Party to please find a soft landing as Governor Umahi has since moved on in his Progressive march to eldorado.”

On the continued detention of the spokesperson of the PDP, Nwoba Chika Nwoba, Umahi said he can’t say much on the matter that is already in court.

He however noted that ‘the said Nwoba Chika to the best of our knowledge is in the web of the Police and Court for defaulting a valid law’.

“That we are constrained to make further comments on the case of Nwoba Chika hence; his case is now pending in a court of competent jurisdiction.

“That the embattled Nwoba and his political party have the leeway to prove themselves innocent through the Court process instead of tempting the State Government to meddle in contempt of the Court.”

He called on the public to discountenance the allegations of his involvement in the issues describing them as “a ploy to ventilate external sympathy to the remnants of the House of Saul in Ebonyi State”.