By CHARLES IWUOHA

Ebonyi State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday petitioned Governor David Umahi over alleged illegal closure of a private school belonging to one of the party’s supporters, Barr. Agbom Friday, located at Ezza South local government.

The party in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Barr. Silas Joseph Onu, and made available to News Express, urged the governor to call to order his All Progressives Congress (APC) loyalists to desist from toeing the path of victimisation of PDP members in the state.

The statement reads in part: “The sudden unwarranted illegal closure of the private School belonging to Barr. Agbom Friday, duly licensed to operate as such, by the Ezza South Local Government.

“Recall that the victim Barr. Agbom Friday is the PDP Chairman for Ezza South Local Government Area. Agbom remained resolute on his decision to continue as a loyal member of the PDP in Ebonyi State. This is his only sin – refusal to decamp to the APC.

“They’ve alleged that the school harbours cultists in the Local Government Area. When did they know of this fact? Was it when he refused to decamp with them to APC?”

PDP urged Umahi to task his loyalists to toe the path of peace which he openly vowed to maintain in the state.

It said: “Governor Umahi openly declared for peace in Ebonyi State. He directed his subordinates to desist from acts that will advance bitterness in the State. With this brazen act of intolerance coming from the Local Government Chairman of Ezza South and other political office holders therefrom, could the directive of the Governor be a mere window-dressing, designed to deceive while politically motivated attacks are sustained by his appointees and boys?

“If the Governor truly meant his directive, then we should see a serious resentment from him regarding this open act of intolerance and psychological violence meted upon Barr. Agbom.

“As we have stated repeatedly, it is not a crime to refuse the lure of decamping along with the Governor. Politics is the epitome of freedom of Association as encapsulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and no one can be forced to belong in a Political party that he or she is not interested in.

“The action of the Executive Chairman of Ezza South Local Government Area is condemned in totality and he is called upon to immediately re-open that school. It is still the duty of the Nigerian Police to fish out criminals, arrest and prosecute them.

“The Governor is called upon, also, to once again admonish his appointees and followers to desist from further harassing or using their office to intimidate citizens simply because they have refused to decamp into APC.

“The PDP is compiling records of this abuse and will soon begin publishing the same on national dailies and televisions for the whole nation and international communities to see what is happening in Ebonyi State. We will not be deterred by needless intimidation and attacks.”