Abia: LG Chairman, Senator accuse each other of assassination attempts

The Transition Committee Chairman of Isiala
Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia
State, Chief Ginger Onwusibe has denied
reports
that he and his convoy attacked the senator
representing Abia Central Senatorial district,
Senator Nkechi Justina Nwaogu at Uratta
junction on the Enugu-Port Harcourt.
Responding to the allegation by the senator that
he ordered his entourage to attack her, the
council boss accused Nwaogu of being
economical with the truth over the incident.
He alleged that the policemen in the senator’s
convoy fired shot at his convoy and attempted
to abduct him.
In his account of the incident, Onwusibe said it
was the senator who ordered the policemen in
her convoy to attack him and his entourage,
which included the member representing Isiala
Ngwa North in the state Assembly, Hon. Martin
Azubuike and other chieftains of the party of the
council, who were returning from a tour of
wards in the area.
The statement reads in part: “Senator Nkechi
Nwaogu is not telling the truth about the
incident which she ordered policemen in her
convoy to fire at us. If there was an
assassination attempt, let her show you people
where she was shot or the bullet holes in her
vehicle. We only escaped their bullets by the
grace of God.
“The truth is that for a month now, we have
been on a tour of the ten wards in the LGA.
After the tour, which was the 8th one, on our
way to the residence of a party official, who
invited us to a reception, we joined the
Expressway from the lane of motorists coming
from the Umuahia end to get to the other lane.
As soon as the more than 30 cars in the convoy
joined the road median to get to the other lane,
we saw a long convoy with a siren coming at a
top speed.
“I saw Senator Nkechi Nwaogu giving orders to
her security people, ‘That is the stupid Ginger
boy, shoot him, shoot him.’ Policemen and the
SSS people in her convoy started shooting. Two
policemen came down and started beating three
of my supporters who were on motorcycles.
When they saw my official car, two policemen
started dragging the door to my car, where I sat
with my wife but I resisted them.
“All through the incident, Senator Nkechi
Nwaogu was still shouting to the policemen,
‘deal with, deal with him’. Even when the
member representing Isiala Ngwa North in the
House of Assembly, Hon. Martin Azubuike
identified himself as a member of the House,
they refused to listen and even threatened to
shoot him”.
Onwusibe further alleged that the senator had
continued to attack him and others who have
declared support for the decision of the party to
zone the 2015 governorship seat to Abia South
zone, which clearly excludes the senator who
hails from Osisioma Ngwa council in Abia Central
zone.
“Since the party and the governor made that
statement on zoning, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu
has been bitter with anyone who supports the
decision. She has also attacked the governor,
but would deny it when confronted. We have
been very bold supporting the decision of the
party. This is why she has continued to attack
me and ordered her convoy to shoot at us”, he
alleged.
Senator Nwaogu, who addressed journalists in
her residence in Aba, had stated that Onwusibe
and hoodlums in his convoy attempted to
assassinate her.
She alleged that Onwusibe’s convoy blocked her
entourage as she was returning to Aba after she
paid homage to Eze Bernard Enweremadu in
Isiala Ngwa North LGA, whose community held
their annual new yam festival.
According to her, “We were coming back from
an event along the Enugu/Port Harcourt
Expressway and on getting to Uratta/Amaekpu
junction in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government,
a car blocked us right at the middle of the
Expressway. We went to Umuahia to attend a
ceremony and on our way coming back, we
went to His Majesty (Eze) Bernard
Enweremmadu’s palace for his new yam festival.
“After the event, we were heading back to Aba;
at the Expressway, we saw a car blocking the
expressway and this was at about 6.45 pm. It
was not the first time this boy