On Tuesday, August 27, officials from the Anambra State government closed the state office of the Edozie Njoku-led All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the campaign office of former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi. Both offices were located in the upscale Udoka Housing Estate in Awka.
The closures led to chaos in the area as government officials, accompanied by soldiers and police, arrived and sealed the buildings.
Tony Uche Ezekwelu, the South East national vice chairman of APGA, suggested that the state government might be uneasy about the increasing popularity of APGA since Edozie Njoku became the party’s national chairman. He explained, “We arrived at the office this morning to oversee the sale of forms for the local government election on September 28. As I approached, I saw our party officials struggling with state government officials, police, and military personnel. They said they were sealing our office based on an order from above.”
Ezekwelu added that the stated reason for the closure was that the area was designated as a residential zone, not for commercial activities. He expressed frustration over not receiving prior notice about the closure, noting that the office had been used by several political campaigns in the past, including Peter Obi’s and others, without issue.
“This office has hosted multiple campaign offices over the years without any problems. What happened today seems purely political,” Ezekwelu said. “If there were any issues, we should have been given a warning instead of being treated like terrorists.”
In response, Governor Chukwuma Soludo addressed the situation during a broadcast marking the creation of Anambra State, assuring that the issues with APGA would be resolved soon.
