2019: Umahi Bars APC From Using Ebonyi Stadium For Rally
Ebonyi State government Thursday urged the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to look elsewhere for its proposed rally on Saturday this week, saying the Abakaliki Township Stadium it proposed to use for the rally was still undergoing reconstruction and renovation.
A faction of the APC in the state had announced that it would hold a mega rally to draw membership to the party at the Pa Ngele Oruta Abakaliki Township Stadium ahead of the 2019 general election.
But addressing members of the state Sports Writers Association (SWAN) who paid him a courtesy call in his office, Chief Press Secretary to Governor David Umahi, Emmanuel Uzor, announced that the stadium was undergoing serious reconstruction including asphalting and illumination of the floodlight.
He noted that Governor Umahi has brought in investors from China that would upgrade the stadium to more International stadium and that any political activity in the place will jeopardise the work currently ongoing at the stadium.
Uzor said, “Abakaliki Township Stadium now Pa Ngele Oruta Stadium as you all know has been under construction and as I am talking to you the asphalt at the back of the stadium is ongoing and the illumination of the floodlight and the popular stand is ongoing.
“The state government and the governor just came back from China, he brought some investors who are coming to look into the stadium and know how they can upgrade it to more International standard.
“Any political activity in that place, especially by a particular party that is divided along three different strange lines, would jeopardise the construction work in the stadium.
“We believe in accommodating all the different voices especially different parties in the state. We don’t want to stifle any opposition, any opposition with credible integrity that wants to do anything is free to do it but as for the stadium, if you notice for some time, even the state government has not done anything in the stadium because of the work going on there.
“So, I want to use this opportunity to tell the faction of the APC the earlier they start looking for an alternative, the better for them. Of course, they have their own stadium at Nkwegu Ugballa. The earlier they start looking for an alternative, the better for them because that place is a no go area not because they are opposition after all, how many are they? But because we are working at the stadium.”
