Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) are locked in a war of words over allegations of harassment and arrest of opposition members in the state.
ADC state chairman, Comrade Jennifer Adibe-Nwafor, and the party’s national financial secretary, Hon. Muhammad Akibu Dahaltu, claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was intimidating and arresting ADC members before their Leadership Summit in Abakaliki.
Under their testimony, the two informed that six party members were taken by unidentified people and driven to the police hours earlier than the event, though they were later released after stakeholders had intervened. The originally planned summit to take place at the People’s Club, Abakaliki, was also disrupted before it was shifted to Akadike Suite.
Adibe criticized Governor Nwifuru for failing to respect his promise of a level playing field for all parties, declaring: “Citizens are constitutionally entitled to belong to any political party of their choice. Yet our members were intimidated. Fortunately, the police let them go and retrieved all stolen properties.”
Dahaltu also said that such was the typical government of an APC all across the nation, citing a trend of disruption within the Kebbi and Kaduna states. “Nigerians are tired of the failures of APC. Who in his sane mind will vote for them in 2027?” he asked.
But Governor Nwifuru, via his special assistant on Inter-Party Affairs, Comrade Sunday Nwanbam, denied any hand, claiming that the government was not party to the said attacks. Ebonyi had been peaceful since the 2023 elections, he claimed, and accused opposition parties of not giving security agencies enough notice of their meetings.
The government can’t go that low to engage in such actions. There was no reported attack to us, and we were unaware of such a meeting. Governor Nwifuru is pro-peace and inclusiveness in all parties in Ebonyi,” Nwanbam announced.
He called on opposition parties to open offices for proper coordination and assured that the administration would keep protecting the interests of all citizens of Ebonyi.
