The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned the assault on a member of the PDP Press Corps and a staff of The Sun Newspaper, Mr. Ndubisi Orji by Mr. Emmanuel Okoronkwo a staff of the PDP Secretariate, describing the incident as unfortunate, and regrettable.
Mr. Emmanuel Okoronkwo physically assaulted the Sun Newspaper Correspondent Mr. Ndubuisi Orji, locked-out, and forcefully prevented other journalists accredited to cover the activities of the PDP from gaining access into the premises of the National Secretariat of the Party to conduct their legitimate duties.
Addressing a press conference on the matter, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said that “The PDP, as a Party is committed to the Rule of Law and the democratic tenets of freedom of the Press, transparency and openness strongly condemns and completely dissociates itself from such act of violence and attack on members of the Press and the institution of the Media which is critical to the activities of our Party and the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria”.
Ologunagba clarified that though the PDP National Secretariat was closed for secretarial activities to enable their staff to participate in the Yuletide festivities with their families, “it does not preclude anybody particularly the press from having access to the Secretariat to conduct their legitimate business.
“Moreover, Mr. Emmanuel Okoronkwo is not in the security department of the Party and has no business whatsoever regarding the regulation of movements into the complex. He acted on his own, in violation of democratic and all-inclusive principles for which the PDP is known and outside the code of conduct guiding activities of staff at the PDP National Secretariat”.
The NPS stated that the PDP was reputed for its uncompromising stand in support and defense of the Constitutional freedom of the press and cannot by any means or under any guise whatsoever engage in or condone any act that tends to abridge such legitimate freedom of the Media or any person for that matter.
“The NWC, therefore assures that the issue will be handled in strict compliance with the Party’s established Code of Conduct guiding activities of staffs at the PDP National Secretariat to serve as a deterrent against such condemnable act which has no place whatsoever in the character and comportment of the PDP as a political Party”.
Debo Ologunagba expressed the PDP’s regrets over the incident and assured of its unalloyed respect for the Press, particularly members of the PDP Press Corps as they continue as partners in progress for accountability, probity and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.
During a question and answer session, Ologunagba emphasised that “As I’ve said, he is a member. He acted alone from our preliminary investigation. But we have committed to you that we’re going to go through an established procedure within the system to understand, and we’ll come clean with it. One thing you can take from me, like, we’ll come out clear and clean to Nigerians, and particularly the press, because this is one of your own. And this is actually, more deeper than being an individual attack on a person. It’s actually about freedom.
“Freedom of the press. Which we hold very dear. So, so far, this is all we have. It’s an ongoing activity to begin. And don’t forget. The Secretariat officially is on vacation.
“We’ll be resuming on Monday. This is so important to me. It’s very personal. And that’s why I said, look, we must find a way to engage. And to, first of all, apologize for what has happened”.
On Mr. Emmanuel Okoronko’s claim that he was acting on Senator Anyawu’s instructions not to let any journalist into the premises, Debo Ologunagba had this to say
“Emmanuel Okoronkwo, who is the staff of this party, has no business at all with security apparatus of the party. And he had no business whatsoever, that’s the worst, here at that time, particularly since we were on vacation.
“So he had no business being here. If he gets instruction from anywhere, wherever he claims to be, then he would take responsibility for those actions. We said that he acted alone.
“If he says he’s acting on instruction, that would be his own deal to deal with. But I can say to you, nobody, this party did not give any instruction to him. He has no business being here. And if he was here to have committed a crime, then he should bear the consequences either personally or by whoever might have sent him, if indeed he was sent”.
Confidence Okwuchi
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