*Hold your rally elsewhere  – Elechi

*Describes proposed rally as attempt to cause violence

By PETER OKUTU

ABAKALIKI – Ebonyi State government Wednesday,  barred the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, from holding its proposed presidential campaign rally scheduled to hold in Abakaliki this month, citing security reasons.

Governor Martin Elechi, who spoke during a state wide broadcast to the people of the state in Abakaliki, asked the ANPP to hold the rally elsewhere.

He noted that the protection of lives and property of citizens was of a higher premium to his administration than the need to allow a free political interaction by any political party in the country.

According to Elechi, the proposed presidential rally scheduled to hold in Abakaliki was a calculated attempt by the National Chairman of ANPP, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, to cause violence and break down of law and order in the state.

He said: “The protection of lives and property of citizens and prevalence of law and order constitutes the primary assignment of every governor and become the purpose of every government.

“These are, for us, a higher premium against the need to allow a free political interaction. Let the ANPP chieftains hold their rally elsewhere.

“In the face of these developments, the proposed rally, at this particular time is, therefore, an open but avoidable invitation to anarchy, knowing that the governor will be unable to restrain the angered and embittered youths of Ebonyi State from a man whose track record has been a recurrent tale of anguish and suffering for Ebonyi youths.

“The truth is that Abakaliki is a small provincial capital struggling to measure up to the status of a state capital. The facilities available, therein, have always proved inadequate for state functions, despite our efforts to expand the scope of facilities there.

“This is a well known fact to the national chairman of ANPP. Therefore, his decision to impose the national rally of his party on such an innocuous and inadequate state has sinister motives.”