The secretariat of the Labour Party in Imo State has been shut.
The national secretary of the party, Umar Farouk, in a statement made on Monday, alleged that the secretariat was shut by the police in connivance with the state administration.
The statement stated, “The national leadership of the Labour Party is appalled by the invasion and takeover of its Secretariat in Owerri, today, Monday, April 3, 2023, by the agents of the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, including thugs and unauthorised policemen from the government house.
“Such an unlawful takeover is equivalent to a similar invasion on the same secretariat on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.”
Farouk stated unlike the March invasion when no rationale was offered by the state government on why it conducted such illegal action against the party, this time, the administration indicated that the action was due to a court order.
“But as at the time, no such instruction to our knowledge was delivered. No order has been provided to us by the court or its officials. The officers now holding our secretariat have not even shown us the order. At the moment, all our officials and workers have been prohibited from reaching the secretariat.
“We have contacted the office of the Inspector General of Police on the current situation in the state, and it has been established that the Force is not aware of any security violation whatsoever in the state to justify the takeover of our secretariat.
“The Labour Party however is not unmindful of the attempts of the Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma to steal the leadership of the party in Imo state,” the national secretary added.
He stated that the police had also told the party that it had not dispatched any of its officers and men to the LP secretariat in Imo State and that the officers may have been recruited from the State House in the state.
Farouk advised members of the party in the state to stay calm even in the face of the current provocation.
Responding, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Oguwike Nwachuku, claimed that the charge was false.
The governor’s spokeswoman added, “The Labour Party’s claim is baseless. They should stop pointing fingers at the wrong place.”
