By CHARLES IWUOHA

Ebonyi State Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2023 elections, Prof. Bernard Odoh, has condemned the attack and destruction of his campaign billboards across the state.

In a statement issued in Abakaliki on Tuesday, Odoh accused agents and thugs of the State Government as responsible for the act.

He explained: “The genesis of the mindless attacks on our billboards which occurred last night, Sunday, August 21, 2022 (because we saw it still hanging hours after the professional handlers, ROCANA Nigeria Ltd had hung them) was that the State Government, obviously jittery of the momentum gained by our consultative engagements in the state so far pasted a “Remove Ads” notices on them”.

“The “Remove Ads” was as a result of our advertising handlers’ refusal to surrender the billboards which we had already paid for to the APC Candidate who had earlier requested for them at all cost. ROCANA are not in any way and form owing the state government.

As law abiding citizens who understands the place of professional engagements in matters such as this, it was only incumbent that we reach out and inform the advertising agency- ROCANA, which has professionally operated in the state and the entire South East in the last few decades about the “remove ads” notices placed by the Ebonyi State Government on the billboards with its official seal. They promised to reach the state government and get back to us as soon as practicable”.

“Some hours after, we discovered that the billboards have already been torn and removed forcefully, suspectedly by desperate agents of the State Government.

“Some of the billboards are still hanging, facing downwards and there have been no explanation offered the professional advertising agent – ROCANA – who has maintained that it has been paying the Ebonyi State Government its taxes, dues and other rates as and when due.”

“This to us is an act of cowardice by Governor Umahi and his army of political bandits. To prove our fears and suspicion right about the ill-intentions of these dastard and coward actors, we discovered that other places where the same Rocana had billboards of other products were not touched and neither was the same “remove ads” notices placed on them”.

The APGA guber candidate therefore called on the State government and security authorities to begin investigation on the matter to avoid reoccurrence in future.

Update news