Abia PDP warns LP against disrupting academic activities for campaigns

The Director of E-Media Publicity of the Abia State gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Aguoru, has advised against attempts to disrupt academic activities at Ngwa High School under the guise of political campaign rallies.

This comes on the backdrop of the planned flag-off of electioneering campaigns by the candidate of the Labour Party, Alex Otti scheduled on 10th November 2022, with a rally billed to take place at Ngwa High School Aba.

Otti had in a press release during the weekend, invited the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, and his running-mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure and other high-ranking national officers of the party to the flag off.

But Aguoru while addressing a cross-section of journalists on Tuesday in Umuahia described as insensitivity taken too far, the attempt to shut down Ngwa High school for rallies during school hours by Otti.

He said, “to every sane Abian who understands the importance of education and cares about the safety and well-being of our children the attempt on its own amounts to gross abuse of privilege and flagrant disregard and disrespect for the rights of the students and their teachers.

“How can any human being contemplate holding a political rally with all the dangers and insecurity associated with such political events in a school compound when students are holding lessons? Aguoru queried.

He further described the planned action as wicked and an abuse of the privilege of free political air that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led government is offering and must be condemned by every well-meaning Abian.

“Apart from the destruction of facilities in the schools where such rallies are held, people also defecate and mess up the school premises and therefore abandon it for the students and management of the school to use their active study time to engage in the clean up of their premises.

“In this period of insecurity in our nation, it is high risk for anybody to hold political rallies when schools are in session ad the security of students cannot be guaranteed under such circumstances and anybody who holds such rallies is an enemy of the public”, he added.

Aguoru warned Otti not to place their political ambitions above the security and future of Abia children and to be sensitive enough to consider the distraction and danger such a program will cause to the students.

“Dr Otti should please place the education and lives of our children above his personal and political interest if he truly cares for Abia State and her people.

“I am therefore pleading with the Labour Party to please consider the lives of the students and their teachers and change the venue of the rally or please reschedule the event to a time and date when the students won’t be in session”, the PDP chieftain admonished.