From reported attacks on PDP gatherings in June to the October violence involving the NDC, opposition parties are questioning the response of Governor Peter Mbah’s administration.
Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu State, has repeatedly condemned reported attacks on his party’s members and gatherings since June, calling on the authorities to protect opposition supporters and bring perpetrators to justice.
The complaints began months before the October 10 confrontation involving supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) at Akanu Ibiam International Airport and the party’s state secretariat.
According to the PDP, its chairman was attacked on June 20 during the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election at Ofu Ogu polling unit in Ovoko Ward, Igbo-Eze North. Nnaji condemned the incident as political thuggery and voter suppression.
The party subsequently reported disruptions at meetings in Akpugo on August 16 and Obe Ward on August 29, both in Nkanu West. It alleged that members were assaulted or intimidated and that property was vandalised.
On September 12, another PDP meeting was reportedly disrupted in Agbani. Gunshots were also reported during a reception for the party’s deputy governorship candidate in Nsukka.
The PDP further alleged that supporters were driven from an event at Nnaji’s campaign office, where canopies and chairs were thrown aside. The party said it had documented death threats and reported them to security authorities.
Nnaji has described the attacks as unacceptable, insisting that political affiliation should not expose citizens to violence.
Nnaji, together with the opposition candidates called for action against political violence.
Their demands included an investigation team drawn from outside the Enugu State Police Command, an incident-by-incident report within 14 days, a public peace accord backed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector-General of Police, and protection for candidates and supporters at lawful political activities.
They also called for the release of Chidi S. Ani, whom opposition figures described as a key witness to the Obuoffia shooting and alleged had been detained since October 5 in connection with cyberbullying charges. The circumstances of his detention and the charges against him require independent scrutiny.
NNAJI IN HIS OWN WORDS
At the joint press conference on Monday, the PDP governorship candidate addressed the attacks and set out the principles on which he says his campaign will rest.
“We are assembled here to show solidarity to our brother in the NDC for what he went through,” Nnaji said. “You don’t play politics with bitterness. The more you harass people, the more people troop out. Politics is not about do-or-die.”
He added: “We believe in politics without bitterness. Politics is not a do-or-die affair, and nobody should be harassed or killed because of political differences. If you have done something for the state, you do not need to intimidate or kill people for them to see it. You only need to showcase your achievements.”
Nnaji’s complaints against the state government extend beyond physical attacks on his supporters. After officials of the Enugu State Environmental Protection Agency entered his campaign office on Abakaliki Road and removed campaign materials while a Federal High Court challenge to the state’s signage policy was still pending, Nnaji said: “My privacy has been invaded by the Enugu State Government. My personal campaign office was attacked by the Enugu State Environmental Protection Agency and all my posters were torn down in contravention of an ongoing court process.”
“Why the haste?” he asked. “Why destroy first when the court is already seized of the matter? The rule of law requires patience, restraint and respect for due process.”
On the wider question of governance, Nnaji has accused the current administration of inflicting hardship on traders through market demolitions and what he describes as excessive taxation, saying the trauma of lost livelihoods has cost lives.
“From the experience people have had and the trauma they have gone through, I know for a fact that many people have died,” he said. “It is not easy for a family man to lose his means of livelihood. The essence of government is to create wealth, not to destroy people’s livelihoods or cause their deaths. The government should not target our people. No government should target anybody, whether the person is an indigene of the state or not.”
In his acceptance speech after emerging as the PDP candidate, Nnaji said his administration would prioritise job creation, the rebuilding of demolished markets, and the removal of taxes he described as suffocating residents.
“I give this victory to the glory of God and our Enugu people, who have been oppressed in the last three years and being overburdened with excessive, obnoxious taxes,” he said. “We will build industries to give our people jobs. The struggle is to recover Enugu State, to rebuild Enugu State, and to industrialise Enugu State, so that we will arrest youth restiveness.”
Nnaji has pledged to serve only one term if elected.
