Unknown assailants suspected to be political thugs on Friday morning attacked the home of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) candidate for Izizi/Abakaliki Federal Constituency, Barnabas Ofoke destroying cars and other property.
Ebonyi PDP spokesperson Chika Nwoba, in a statement, on Friday accused the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC) for the attack.
The Nation could not independently verify his claim of APC involvement in the attack.
Nwoba said the compound of Ofoke within which the house was located was designated as the venue for the PDP Governorship rally in the local government today.
The APC governorship candidate and Ebonyi Speaker Francis Nwifuru is from the local government.
Nwoba said: “Today is the PDP governorship campaign rally in Izzi LGA of Ebonyi State. Yesterday by 2 o’clock in the night, thugs working for the APC governorship candidate, Francis Nwifuru invaded the compound of the PDP candidate for Izzi/Abakaliki Federal Constituency, Hon. Barnabas Ofoke and shattered the house, vehicles and sent occupants away.
“This was the compound the campaign was meant to hold since the APC governorship candidate and Gov. Umahi declared no open space for PDP in the LGA.
“This is the LGA of the APC governorship candidate. The father of the PDP House of Representatives candidate whose house was destroyed as shown here was the political godfather of Francis Nwifuru and still alive,” Nwoba said.
Nwifuru however denied having a hand in the attack.
A member of the party’s media team and an aide to Governor David Umahi, Brutus Orogwu, said the incident was self inflicted by the PDP.
He said the PDP staged the attack in an attempt to tarnish the image of the APC and its governorship candidate, who hails from the area.
He said: PDP secretly sent their boys to destroy those things just to use it to tarnish the APC image in Izzi. Well, all I know is that they have failed already”, he said.
The Director of New Media of the APC Campaign Council and State Spokesperson of APC, Simbad Ogbuatu also debunked the accusation.
He said Nwifuru and the APC had no hand in the said attack and accused the PDP of staging the incident.
He said: This is a mere propaganda by the PDP. Nwifuru is a peaceful person, a man who has respect for human life and rule of law and as such can never send anybody for such a despicable act.
“PDP are not on ground, they stage managed the attack. Ofoke is not a threat, he has never won his Polling unit”
“The media and Ebonyi voters should disregard this propaganda by PDP, it is because they know they don’t have the capacity to defeat APC at the polls that they are coming up with these gimmicks to tarnish the image of PDP”
“Nwifuru did not attack anybody and didn’t send anybody to carry out any attack. APC does not have things and does not believe in or engage in thuggery,” he said.
(TNT)
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