Elder statesman and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, has condemned the sealing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s liaison office in Umuahia by Governor Alex Otti.
He dismissed the reason given by the government that the property at Ojike Road didn’t meet its tax obligations as spurious, saying that it was a deliberate ploy to humiliate Tinubu.
According to him, if indeed the property in question defaulted in tax payment, the authorities didn’t contact the relevant people to ensure that the money was paid.
Ogbonnaya, who is a two-time commissioner in Abia State, said the Renewed Hope Partners office was a liaison office of the President to communicate the programmes and policies of the federal government to Abia people.
He said it was disrespectful to Tinubu for Otti to shut down the office which was meant for the dissemination of information to rural people by the President.
“This is a calculated and deliberate act by the governor to humiliate the president. This is a slap on the face of the APC-led federal government,” he argued.
He demanded the immediate reopening of the Office of the Renewed Hope Partners by the Abia State government so as not to incur the wrath of the federal authorities.
Said he, “I have been in government and I know all about this kind of prank. If the particular office was in arrears of tax, did they give them notice before this act of rascality?”
He expressed worry that Gov Alex Otti was now targeting political opponents for intimidation and humiliation ahead of the 2027 general election.
According to him, it had not been up to three weeks that Otti revoked a subsisting agreement for the lease of Abia Hotels just because the beneficiary is a strong supporter of Tinubu.
“Otti is now targeting Tinubu’s supporters in Abia for intimidation. Those of us in APC will resist it because this is democracy,” he said.
Ogbonnaya urged the security agencies in the state to take notice of these “lawless acts by a burgeoning political emperor.”
