We will rather die than allow Ogah’s inauguration as governor — PDP

The Abia chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) has declared that it will resist any attempt to
inaugurate, Sampson Ogah, as the new governor of
the state.
“We are ready for them, we are ready to die,” the
party said, adding, “If they do it, then they are
inviting anarchy and confusion in the state.
The party made the resolution and declaration at the
end of its emergency meeting in Umuahia on
Thursday.
The state Chairman of the party, Johnson Onuigbo,
accompanied by members of the executive
committee, said the party got wind of a plan to flood
the state with military personnel.
Mr. Onuigbo said such an invasion would trigger off
anarchy, adding that the party was poised for
showdown over the planned inauguration.
He described the judgment of the Federal High Court,
Abuja, which ordered that Mr. Ogah be sworn in as
“a rape of democracy.”
The court, presided over by Justice Okon Abang, on
Tuesday ordered Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to vacate
office as governor over the case of tax evasion.
Justice Abang also ordered that Mr. Ogah, who came
second in the PDP primaries, should be sworn in as
the governor.
Mr. Ogah was also issued the Certificate of Return by
the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) in Abuja on Thursday.
The PDP chairman, however, said the judgment and
issuance of Certificate of Return to Mr. Ogah had
undermined the peace and tranquillity enjoyed in
the state.
“Abia is not safe. I didn’t want to believe the
rumour that the state will soon be invaded by the
army because this is not a war zone.
“We want to inform the world that there is tension
in Abia because democracy is about to be raped.
“As a party, we will resist any move by anybody to
undermine the peace in the state,” Mr. Onuigbo said.
He said that as a law-abiding state, the government
had obtained an exparte injunction “restraining the
state Chief Judge or any other judges from swearing
in Mr. Ogah as governor”.
“We are ready for them, we are ready to die,” he
said, adding, “If they do it, then they are inviting
anarchy and confusion in the state.
“We are in a democracy so we want the world to
hear and know that we are being shortchanged in
Abia,” he said.
Mr. Onuigbo said the party had sent emissaries to
Mr. Ogah to persuade him “to sheath his sword and
allow peace to reign in Abia” to no avail.
He said that at the end of the current crisis, the
party would met out sanction to Mr. Ogah for
disregarding entreaties from the chieftains of the
party. (NAN)