Umar Farouk, the party’s national secretary, said in a statement on Monday that the state governor, Hope Uzodimma, conspired with the police to seal the secretariat.
“The national leadership of the Labour Party is shocked over the invasion and occupation of its secretariat in Owerri, today, Monday, April 3, 2023, by the agents of the Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma, including thugs and unauthorized police men drafted from the government house,” reads one portion of the statement.
“This illegal occupation was comparable to the March 15, 2023 invasion of the same secretariat.”
“This time, they said that the action was due to a court order. This is in contrast to the invasion in March, when the state government gave no explanation for why it took such illegal action against our political party.
” Yet as right now, no such request as far as anyone is concerned was given. We have received no order from the court or its representatives. We have not even been shown the order by the police officers who are currently in our secretariat. Right now, every one of our authorities and staff have been banned from getting to the secretariat.”
He also said that the party had contacted the office of the Inspector General of Police about the state’s progress. However, the police force said they didn’t know of any security breach in the state that would require them to take over their secretariat.
Additionally, the police informed them that none of its men or officers had been sent to the Imo state secretariat; Farouk added that the officers might have been recruited from the state’s State House.
Oguwike Nwachuku, the governor’s chief press secretary, however, stated that the claim was untrue.
“The Labour Party’s allegation is unfounded,” the spokesperson for the governor stated. They ought to cease pointing fingers in the wrong direction.