By Austin Obinna
The untold story of the curious seal-off of the Agwara Plaza, the Imo State Labour Party headquarters on Monday 3rd April, 2023 by police officers was laid bare by the owner of the three-storey building, United States-based lawyer, Dr. Libo Agwara, on Tuesday 4th April, 2023.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in his office on the last floor of the building, Agwara who donated the building to the party, revealed that he got a phone call alerting him that the police had sealed off the building.
“On arrival at my office, the police officers who laid siege at the building denied me access to my office, saying the building had been sealed based on a court order”
Said he, “I told them that I am the owner of the building and my personal office is on the last floor of the building. When I asked them on whose directive they sealed off the building, they said they could not answer the question. But one of them stepped aside to call their commander and came back to say I was free to enter with my personal visitors, but nobody was allowed to enter for the purpose of LP related meeting”
The legal luminary who has practised law in the United States for forty years and served as attorney to high profile personalities such as late musical maestro, Michael Jackson, added, “I think they were talking about the court order obtained by the Dr. Ambrose Onyekwere-led Caretaker Committee whose tenure expired and who were dissolved by the Barr. Julius Abure-led National Working Committee. They said they were there to enforce status quo. The police officers even denied the LP National Vice Chairman, South East, Chief Innocent Okeke, access to the building. It was only when I told them that he came to see me that they allowed him in”
Agwara added that “when government denied involvement in the siege laid by the police, it became obvious that the Onyekwere faction kicking against the Festus Bethel Iyke Onyekwulisi-led Caretaker Committee inaugurated by the NWC, had contact with whoever ordered the siege.”
On the chances of the LP at electoral victory at the governorship election billed for November 11th, 2023 given the seeming impasse in the party coupled with the outcome of the presidential, national assembly, and house of assembly elections, Agwara replied, “It was clear that Peter Obi won the presidential election. It was clear that LP won governorship elections beyond Abia State, but the exercise was marred by brigandage and manipulations that don’t even make sense. Based on this scenario, if Imo State LP can get the right candidate in the mold of Peter Obi via the primaries, we will surely win the governorship election. But if things go wrong at the primaries and the wrong person emerges as candidate, it will be disastrous and many of us will leave the party.”
He regretted that “time does not permit adequate interaction between the aspirants and the electorates so that the voters will know the type of person they want to vote for very well”
Asked whether he has confidence in the judiary as far as Obi’s presidential election petition is concerned, he answered, “I will be pleasantly surprised if the court concludes this matter before May 29th, 2023, the date of the inauguration of the president-elect. This is because, I am convinced that if they are not compromised, Peter Obi will be declared President”
