Posted by The Delta State Government has refuted the claim that it forbade the Labour Party from using a location in Asaba for a rally in support of its presidential candidate.
Charles Aniagwu, Commissioner for Information, said as much during a news conference on Tuesday in Asaba, calling the accusation “cheap falsehoods and blackmail.”
According to Aniagwu, the state government has never forbidden the party or its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, from using a particular location for a rally.
According to him, the Labour Party raced to social media to claim it was turned down a venue just 10 minutes after the Oshimili Arcade in Asaba was approved and the required waiver was given to it.
There was never a time when the Delta Government refused the party access to a location for a campaign event, he claimed, therefore these claims are baseless lies and blackmail.
The commissioner claimed that the party had never requested permission to utilize any state-owned facilities from the government.
He added that the state administration had to sanction the use of the arcade for the event due to its democratic credentials and to avoid stepping into a trap.
Aniagwu further stated that the state government had decided to forgo the application and payment requirements that the party had to meet in order to reserve the site.
They believed that if we held onto the fact that they had not applied, we would later make it appear as though everyone was their own and Asaba had been shut down.
He said: “Party members should understand that our goal to reconstruct Nigeria must not be founded on lies and blackmail, but on truth and character.