Defection: Anyim tackles Umahi, says gov after his life

Political crisis in Ebonyi State is getting messier as many of its political leaders have continued to accuse each other of plot to kill or unleash mayhem in the state following the defection of the state governor, David Umahi from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Party.

The latest is a former Senate President, Pius Anyim, petitioning President Muhammadu Buhari, Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu and the Department of State Services (DSS), alleging a plot to kill him for not defecting with the governor. He accused Governor Umahi as being behind the plot.

The governor on Friday had accused Anyim, and former governor, Sam Egwu, of plotting to unleash mayhem in the state.

The duo and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to Umahi, plan to recruit cultists and members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to maim and kill.

The governor spoke in Abakaliki, capital of the state, shortly after a security meeting at the Government House.

He named Senator Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central) and Acting Southeast Vice Chairman of the PDP, Ali Odefa as other alleged conspirators and vowed to meet force with force if they tested his will.

Anyim in his petition on Monday claimed Umahi was in his house on November 20 to advise him to defect from the PDP to the APC, adding that he had declined.

The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) denied that he and key leaders in Ebonyi State  were engaging cultists and members of the proscribed IPOB to kill and cause crisis in the state.

Anyim said, “The case at hand is his defection to APC on the 19th of November, 2020. The discerning public knows that he has been on the plan for a long time and when he decided to consummate it, he suddenly concocted an accusation against the PDP, that the PDP was not willing to zone Presidency to the Southeast.

“When he spews these allegations, he would not even mind whether they make sense or not. He did not have the mental capacity to reason that no party in less than two years into a new term would bring the next election unto the front burner.

“That even in the APC where he has gone to, the issue of next election is not yet on the table as doing so would distract the government.

“People who know Governor Umahi know that he normally starts this way whenever he is hatching a sinister plan. He raises dusts, makes wild allegations and accusations against people just to divert the attention of the public before he strikes.

“It is public knowledge that Governor Umahi had been planning his defection to the  APC for a long time. In his delusion, he believed his own lies that he is the only man who matters in Ebonyi State. He did not consult with anybody notable before consummating his defection to APC. After his defection, no person of note followed him.”

Ayim said he could not ignore Umahi’s threats because of the governor’s antecedents.

“I have no doubt that Governor Umahi may have been told that he needed blood to accomplish his present enterprise. Otherwise, how can a man in his 6th year as Governor of a state suddenly realise that a former President of the Senate, a former governor of the state and two-time serving senator Dr Sam Egwu, Senator Obinna Ogba, two time serving senator are now cultists and IPOB members. Something is wrong somewhere,” he said.

Anyim said he decided to cry out because “ Umahi’s modus operandi are well known and his moves are easily predictable.”

He said,” The purpose of this response is to alert the public and the security agencies in particular on the schemes of Governor David Umahi so that they will read him upfront and be wary of him and his allegations.”

Governor Umahi had alleged that Anyim and his cohorts were fond of fighting successive governors in the state.

 “I want the press to note that I reported an allegation of some Ebonyi people that are engaging cultism, and according to them, some IPOB members to start killings and crises in Ebonyi State in the name of fighting Ebonyi State Government and the governor, and their leader is Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, and their members are Dr Sam Egwu, Senator Ogba, Mr Ali Odefa and others.

“This is alleged information I got and I needed to share this information with the security agencies, and the reason is that every governor in this state has been fought by the same set of people.”