Anambra 2013: Ngige Accuses Obi of Removing His Bill Boards

 The campaign organisation of Senator Chris Ngige, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the November 16, governorship election in Anambra State has accused  Governor Peter Obi of conspiring to remove his bill boards and flex from circulation.

This, the Director of Media and Publicity of Ngige campaign organisation, Mr. Charles Amilo who briefed the media in Awka yesterday said it was because the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) administration in the state and its governorship candidate were afraid and jittery of Ngige’s popularity.

But the Chief Operations officer of Anambra State Signage and Advertisements Agency (ANSA) Mr. Jude Emecheta, in his reaction said the bill boards were pulled down because the advertisement agency handling Ngige’s campaign didn’t pay the requisite fees before hoisting his bill boards and flex after they were approached severally to do so.

Amilo had in the briefing alleged that in the mid-morning of yesterday, some commercial motor-cycle riders known as “Okada” in the local parlance had stormed the campaign office to inform them that some people were vandalising Ngige’s bill boards mounted at the Awka ends of Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

Promptly, he said they rushed to the scene to behold four gun wielding young men removing the bill boards to which they raised the alarm which attracted sympathisers who chased after them.
According to him, three ran away and one of the alleged vandals was arrested.

He said the arrested person confessed before being handed over  to the police that they were asked to remove all Ngige bill boards in the state by the state Commissioner for Information and Culture,  Joe Martins Uzodike, who also doubles as the Director-General of Willie Obiano campaign Organisation.

He said that they resorted to removing the bill boards inspite of the fact that they had paid all necessary fees for bill boards and branding of vehicles meant that they were jittery over Ngige’s candidature.
“They are simply jittery. It is disheartening to see young people wielding guns. It is unfortunate that a peaceful process of election is being turned into brigandage of the first order. We are not going to accept this. They have reached the limit of their provocation”, he said, adding that nobody had absolute control over violence.

But the ANSA boss, Emecheta dismissed the whole thing as laughable saying that neither the state commissioner for Information, Joe Martins Uzodike and the Willie Obiano Campaign organization, nor the state governor was aware of the agency’s action not alone instigating it.

The agency he insisted operates within the ambit of the law establishing it and its actions had no political undertones but against all those owing the state government. Ngige’s bill boards he said were being removed because the advertisement agency handling them was still owing ANSA N8.5 million after it had paid the initial N2 million for his flex, adding that the agency must function as an independent organization.

He said both Obiano and Ifeanyi Ubah had paid up and they were also going to pull down the bill boards of Nigerian Progressive Party (NPP) candidate, Mr. Basil Iwuoba for defaulting and that the action was not directed against anybody particularly.