Members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Ika South Local Government Area, Delta State, have raised alarm over the disruption of their meeting which was scheduled to hold today, Saturday, May 3, 2025 in Agbor. The PDP members who are youths from different different wards in the local government said that they were attacked around 7.am today morning at the venue of the meeting along Mariere Street Agbor by a group of armed young men they suspected to be cultists.
A former supervisory councillor, Ika South Local Government Council and one of the conveners of the meeting, Mr Jude Obianke during an interview with journalists said, “I’m a member of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Ika South Local Government Area. Due to the recent development in our political party, we decided to meet today, Saturday, May 3 in Agbor to discuss plans on how to move PDP forward. As plans were on for today’s meeting, we were invited to the Police Headquarters in Asaba, Delta State Command, yesterday, Friday, May 2 where we met with an Assistant Commissioner of Police. Also in the meeting were the immediate past PDP chairman in Ika South, Comrade Amechi Igumbor and his secretary, Mr Friday Naihoma. At the end of the meeting we were directed by the police not to use the PDP Secretariat in Agbor as venue for our scheduled meeting and we agreed to the directive. When we returned to Agbor, we went straight to a radio station where we informed our people that we were not arrested. Also, as part of our plans to have a hitch free meeting, we notified the Police Area Command in Agbor, the Divisional Police Officer, Agbor, the DSS officer in Agbor and Abuja. So, this morning, we were setting our canopies and chairs in our chosen venue along Mariere Street when hoodlums numbering up to fifty persons raided the venue. They attacked us with dangerous weapons and destroyed our rented canopies, including chairs and tables. I was seriously beaten up and my three phones were taken from me. I managed to retrieve one of the phones. As we talk now, I’m at the Central Hospital, Agbor receiving medical treatment with other PDP members who were victims of the attack too. We later realized that the hoodlums were sent by PDP leaders who defected to the APC.
“We are asking if there is no more freedom of association in Nigeria?. If there is, why are former PDP leaders who defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC fighting us?. APC should ask their new members why they are fighting us?. They have left PDP, therefore, they should allow us to rebuild our party, PDP which they abandoned for the APC. PDP is our party, we are not going to abandon it for another political party. PDP decampees in APC in Ika South should leave us alone, they should mind their business and get themselves busy with APC affairs”.
Another victim of the attack and former councillor, Ika South Legislative Arm, Hon Chinedu Eghor, also narrated his ordeal to journalists, ” It was a shocking experience this morning, Saturday, May 3 as our meeting was obstructed by hoodlums. We have openly declared that we will remain in PDP , that we are not going to any other political party. Our decision to remain in PDP was based on self determination to safeguard our future and the future of our children. There is freedom of association in Nigeria as contained in the constitution. Therefore, we wondered why we were attacked by people who defected from our political party to the APC”.
While calling for calm among PDP members in Ika South, Eghor stated, “We are law abiding citizens, we are not fighting anybody, and our decision was for the interest of our people. We are not working for any political leader and we are not interested in any position. All that we are saying is that PDP must work. We have benefitted immensely from PDP, therefore, we shall not going to allow it to die”.
