LG Election: Anambra Govt Seals Edozie Njoku-Led APGA Office

Officials of the Anambra State government, Tuesday, sealed the state office of the Edozie Njoku-led All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA office, located at the highbrow Udoka Housing estate in Awka.

Also sealed was the building that served as the campaign office of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 general, Mr. Peter Obi.

There was pandemonium in the area as government officials, accompanied by soldiers and the police, swooped the area and sealed the offices.

South East national vice chairman of APGA, Mr. Tony Uche Ezekwelu told reporters that the state government might have felt threatened by the growing popularity of APGA since Edozie Njoku became the national chairman of the party.

He said: “We came to the office this morning ( yesterday) to monitor the sale of expression of interest form for the councillorship and chairmanship for the September 28 local government election.

“As I was coming, I saw some of our party officials struggling with officials of the state government who were accompanied by the police and the army and they said they came to seal our party office following an order from above.
“Their reason was that the area was originally mapped out as a residential area and not for commercial activities.

“Our concern was that there was no previous notice. This is our new party office since we came into office two months ago.

There are many commercial offices in this area, including Nonye Soludo’s Healthy Living. Over the years, this area has always been used by political parties as their campaign office and nobody sealed them.

“This office housed Peter Obi’s campaign office, the Atiku/Obi Presidential Campaign office, the Labour Party, the Godwin Ezeemo Campaign, and we are the latest.

“What happened here is unfortunate and we know it is all politics. If there was any default, we ought to have been written instead of swooping into our office as if terrorists were occupying the place.

” They should know that this is the official state office of APGA and the only one for that matter as recognized by the law. Maybe they worried that APGA members have been trooping into the place and that rattled them”.

However, when contacted, the Managing Director of the Anambra State Housing Development Corporation, Hon. Chike Anyaonu, confirmed that the seal-off was effected by the Corporation, as part of the agency’s enforcement against the misuse of government’s property by allottees.

According to him, the sealed property were being used for commercial purposes instead of residential for which they were  meant.

This, he said, continued, despite the attempts by the Corporation to make the people revert to the use of the property for residential purpose for which they were approved and alloted; hence, the agency’s move to seal them off.

“Today, August 27, 2024, the Anambra State Housing Development Corporation sealed some property being used against the purpose for which they approved at the Udoka Housing Estate. The affected property were being used for commercial purposes instead of residential for which they were  meant for.

“The Corporation was forced to embark on the present exercise after several failed attempts to have owners/allottees of the properties revert to the use for which the development approvals were given to them.

“The Corporation is hereby issuing the last warning to revoke any properties violating the terms and conditions guiding development of properties in all her estates which is not limited to Udoka Housing Estate,” Hon. Anyaonu said in a text message to this reporter.

Source: Vanguard