By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State has condemned what it called the deliberate attempt by some opposition political parties in the state to engage in the maligning of the party’s governorship candidate in the state, Barr. Peter Mbah.

The party’s made the condemnation in reaction to a trending video in the state which made some allegations against Mbah.

Addressing journalists in Enugu on Monday, Barr. Nana Ogbodo, Director of Communications/Spokesman, PDP Campaign Organization in the state, said those involved in the malicious campaigns and character assassination should be brought to book by law enforcement agencies.

Ogbodo said the purveyors of the fake news were taking for granted the fact that the Enugu State Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, had enthroned an enabling environment characterized by restraint even in the face of brazen provocation.

He said it was unfortunate that some misguided members of the society have continually hidden under the anonymity of the social media world to peddle sheer falsehood and utter malicious content.

According to him, Enugu State is not immune to this malaise. In the last few months, especially since the beginning of campaigns for the forthcoming elections, those who ought to have known better, have sought to revile the prevailing civility in the state and drag the hard-earned reputation of Enugu’s illustrious sons to the mud of public obloquy.

“Lately, the state has been inundated with clearly malicious jingles and sundry content conceived with the devious intent to malign the reputation of our governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah. Despite the disingenuous attempt to mask the identity of the purveyors, it is not difficult to deduce the source of these slanderous messages.

“We are not in the least surprised by such discovery, as the messages are in sync with the characters of the linchpins whose political careers are typified by mudslinging. Whereas most of these pretenders have no record of success in any previous endeavor, they are wont to rate any other person’s successes from the warped prism of their serial failings, after all, it is often typical of scoundrels to assume that their enemies are the enemies of God!

“Rather than devote efforts to enunciate a functional blueprint, or nurture their tarnished reputations, these besmirched opposition elements have chosen, quite ironically, to contrive a campaign of calumny against someone who, by his sheer dint of hard work and revolutionary ideas, has been able, through the Pinnacle Oil success story, to give Enugu State a salient definition in the national map of entrepreneurship, thus underscoring that we are also blessed with men of distinct abilities.

“Such dirty ploy is reflective of the Socratic saying that slander becomes the tool of the loser when the debate is lost! Yet, the PDP Campaign Organization would like to emphasize that slander is never permissible in any society governed by the rule of law.

“Indeed, it is gratifying to note that the Enugu State governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has enthroned an enabling environment characterized by restraint even in the face of brazen provocation. Such unrestrained freedom, we all know, is not guaranteed in some States around Enugu. These purveyors of falsehood know this too well.

“Fortunately, such lies can only titillate a few. The larger section of the electorate would rather be treated to engaging debates and ennobling campaigns. This is what our candidate has been carrying out through his numerous town hall meetings across the State.”

The PDP Campaign spokesman, who said the party was aware of those behind the malicious content, warned that “whereas the Nigerian constitution guarantees an array of freedom, including rights of expression, it does not translate to a right to deliberately impugn people’s reputation.

“We therefore hereby call on the law enforcement agencies to dig deep and bring to law all those who have by these incendiary messages gone beyond the threshold of law and decency.

“It is also pertinent to restate that while we may have chosen to go high as they consciously plunge lower to depths of depravity, we are not averse to seeking legal redress when the line of decency is breached as presently obtains.”

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