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Umahi orders police to takeover hotel hosting PDP office in Ebonyi

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The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, on Friday, ordered the Commissioner of Police in the state to take over the Salt Lake Hotel, which serves as the temporal office of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Ebonyi State.

According to reports, members of PDP gathered at the hotel to distribute electoral materials for the party’s state congress scheduled to hold at the Peoples Club Event Centre in Abakaliki.

The hotel is said to belong to Senator Obinna Ogba, a PDP senator representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone.

Addressing stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, at a meeting that took place at the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, Umahi said the directive was necessary because of a rumoured attempt by some aggrieved members of the APC, to hold a parallel state congress at the venue.

He said: “One, Kenneth Nwakparata wants to conduct a parallel congress; he wrote a letter on social media saying he wants to conduct a parallel congress. That letter is fake, and I have declared him wanted. Anywhere you see him, bring him to the police, you will get N500,000, and where he wants to conduct the congress is at Obinna Ogba’s hotel.

“Well, they have gone to ask and they said they didn’t book the place but only wrote to me. I am cancelling any meeting there tomorrow. There shall be no meeting there and the CP must take over that place, the entire place must be beefed up with security. But, if you want to try, you try and go there and see what will happen. I am the chief security officer of the state and it is my duty to maintain law and order.

“No be every Governor, they go try anyhow. Make them try this one and see. Is not possible for everybody to be very happy, that notwithstanding, if you want accommodation, we will give you. It must not be your will to stand, but it’s the will of the majority of the people of Ebonyi State because Ebonyi State is APC and APC is Ebonyi State.

“Let me commend the various senatorial zones for the manner and the peaceful way they resolved the positions that were zoned to them. The party’s Constitution accommodates zoning and so, there is nothing anybody can do about that.”

READ ALSO: Umahi threatens to suspend local council chiefs, monarchs for any killing in Ebonyi

However, in a swift response, the PDP Chairman in the state, Elder Fred Udeogu, told Umahi to avoid making ridiculous statements that are capable of putting the lives of the peoples in danger, saying the governor lacks focus.

“I state categorically that the information you people have is as useless as it is unimaginable. As far as I am concerned, the owner of this hotel is a bonafide member of PDP. It is not easy for APC men to even come here to use this place for anything.

“The level of non-communication between PDP and APC is so diametric. It has been a long time since the governor has been looking for how to seal the hotel that belongs to a distinguished senator. This is a baseless and directionless issue.

“Umahi lacks focus, by saying he will seal this hotel, let him come and seal it. We are waiting. We applied to the police about a month ago and they have the timetable of PDP that covers the ward, local government and state congresses. We are carefully avoiding the government facility,” he stated.

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