Group Warns Soludo Against Stifling Opposition Voices

A political pressure group has urged Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, to restrain his media aides from blackmailing and intimidating those who criticize the programs and actions of the government.

The group, named Anambra Progressive and Good Governance Association, encouraged the governor to listen to critical views, as such feedback would help his government correct its mistakes and, in the process, deliver services that would uplift the welfare of the people and develop the state.

In a statement issued by the President, Mr. Ifeanyi Nweke, a lawyer, the association expressed support for Prof. Lilian Orogbu, the member representing Awka-North/Awka-South federal constituency, who condemned the harassment of street hawkers and the destruction of their goods by state government agents.

The group noted that Soludo’s media team, following the lawmaker’s condemnation, launched a media campaign against her, leveling various allegations. However, upon investigation, the association found these allegations to be false.

For instance, the association refuted claims made by some of Soludo’s media aides that Prof. Orogbu received N200 million from the federal government to purchase rice for distribution to her constituents during the last Christmas celebration, only to distribute 120 bags of rice. Their investigations revealed that the lawmaker procured a total of 2,570 bags of rice, which were distributed across the 34 wards, benefiting non-natives, physically challenged persons, women’s groups, widows, community leaders, and youth leaders.

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The association particularly condemned a derogatory article against the federal lawmaker authored by one of the governor’s media aides, titled “Lilian Orogbu: A Beauty Pageant or Federal Lawmaker.” The group described the article as vain and baseless and advised the governor’s media team to maintain professionalism in their engagements to avoid violating the Cybercrime Act of 2015.

“We advise Prof. Soludo to restrain his media aides from attacking members of the opposition parties; rather, he should collaborate with them to develop Anambra, as the final beneficiaries are all Ndi-Anambra,” the group urged.

They warned that spreading misinformation about opposition voices to silence them would be counterproductive to the development efforts of the government.