From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Imo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council has debunked the claims that the hotel rooms booked ahead of the election are for election observers and security personnel’s.
According to a statement by the Deputy director Electronics /New media, Ambrose Nwaogwugwu who confirmed the bookings but noted that it was aimed at checking thugs and miscreants alleged to have been imported by the opposition parties .
The release obtained from his Facebook handle reads in parts “Indeed, the said circulating document rightly emanated from the honorable commissioner for ministry of tourism, Hon. Jerry Egbule Egemba to the hotel managers and owners.
“As security reports have indicated the Influx of thugs and miscreants into the state for election, the security agencies in collaboration with the state government.
“In a measure to curtail their nuisance and ensure that the integrity of the next week’s Saturday governorship election is not compromised through violence castrated by thugs as the continued influx of thugs into the state could threaten the peace of the election.
“The state government came up with the idea of knowing the identity of the people coming into the state through managed advanced booking system and advance hotel reservation directives introduced by the honorable commissioner.
“It was this genius strategy to keep the election safe and secured that the opposition got wind of and blew out of proportion as plans to keep election observers and CSOs away from the state. In effect, no CSO or election observer should be jittery if the authorities wish to know their identities if their intention was genuine.
“If the intention of the directive was to deny CSOs and Election Observers access to the hotel facilities as wrongly alleged by the opposition elements, the directives would not have been conveyed on an official letter to all the hotel owners and managers in the state in a full letter headed paper of the ministry fully endorsed by the honorable commissioner with his signature.
“What was there to hide even when some of the opposition members are hotel owners and managers and the letters was also sent to them? Certainly nothing to hide. If indeed it was something sinister, the letters would not have been given to the hotels belonging to the opposition members.
“We are therefore stating without any fear of contradiction that the intentions behind the letter was genuine, patriotic and was borne in the best interest of the state for a peaceful conduct of the upcoming governorship election by denying thugs loyal to politicians access into the state.
“Consequently, we must assert that those who are already feeling jittery about this noble initiatives and interventions of the ministry of tourism informed by security reports of presence of thugs to checkmate the Influx of thugs for the election are those who certainly have cockroaches in their cupboard.
“We implore the opposition candidates to get busy with the campaign as the APC is currently doing to reach out to the masses on why they should be voted by the people and not looking for flimsy excuses to make up for the anticipated electoral woes awaited for them come next week Saturday.