The member representing Ehime Mbano, Ihitte/Uboma, and Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Rep. Chike Okafor, has condemned the abduction of Chief Ngozi Ogbu.
Ogbu, a former chairman of Okigwe Local Government Area, and former member of the lmo State House of Assembly representing Okigwe State Constituency, was abducted last week by yet to be identified persons.
Recall that a disturbing video of Ogbu, surrounded by his captors, recently surfaced online, where he seemed to have been coerced into reading from a script, calling for the disbandment of security checkpoints in Okigwe Local Government Area.
Rep. Okafor described the situation as very worrisome and called for a united voice to quell the violent and criminal conduct of these non-state actors.
The federal lawmaker stated that human life is sacred and must be preserved tenaciously, just as he appealed to every stakeholder in the state to join hands with Governor Hope Uzodimma to secure the release of Ogbu and any other victim of kidnapping.
He hailed Gov. Uzodimma for his tireless efforts to ensure the release of the former local government chairman and legislator, despite being an opposition politician, adding that the governor’s intervention and his concerted efforts to ensure the safe return of the abducted politician are an indication that he values the lives of Imo people, irrespective of their political affiliations.
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He wondered why key opposition figures are denigrating the governor over the incident, when they looked away when a serving local government council chief executive was gruesomely beheaded in Ideato North Local Government Area.
This is contained in a statement issued yesterday by his media centre.
“Those who are criticizing the governor now did not as much as utter a word; they did not issue press releases when a local government chairman was beheaded in the state.
“They have also failed to acknowledge the state government’s successes in the area of security,” Rep. Okafor.
He further condemned the infantile attempts by opposition forces, who are playing cheap politics with a serious issue that involves human life, noting that only heartless people place little or no value on human dignity.
“It is man’s inhumanity to man, for anyone to attempt to score cheap political points with this, because of the disturbing kidnapping of Chief Ngozi Ogbu.
“From all indications, Governor Uzodimma is very much on top of the situation, and with the cooperation of Imo people and by the grace of God, Chief Ogbu will be rescued from the hands of his captors.
“This is evident from the fact that Orsu Local Government Area, which became infamous as the hotbed of activities of the arsonists, has now become very calm, and normalcy has returned to the area.
“This will be the lot of Okigwe and every other part of Imo State if all hands are on deck to support the state government in the effort to rid the state of insecurity,” the House of Representatives member said.
He further enjoined political actors to be circumspect in their words and never allow their personal ambitions to becloud their sense of judgment.
