The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday stated its employees, Mr. Emmanuel Okoronkwo, who assaulted The SUN Newspaper correspondent, Ndubuisi Orji, acted on his personal, and in violation of the democratic ideas which the celebration is thought for.
The celebration described the incident as unlucky and regrettable, stressing that it didn’t direct the employees to beat up any reporter, stressing that it additionally didn’t cease journalists from accessing the celebration’s secretariat throughout the holidays.
Recall that Okoronkwo, an aide to sacked nationwide secretary of PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, bodily attacked Orji on the celebration’s nationwide secretariat in Abuja on Monday, after refusing to permit him entry to the celebration’s secretariat to cowl his beat.
Reacting yesterday, the nationwide publicity secretary of PDP, Hon Debo Ologunagba, stated celebration’s management has obtained the “very disturbing report {that a} employees of our Party, Mr. Emmanuel Okoronkwo yesterday assaulted, a correspondent of the Solar Newspapers, Mr. Ndubuisi Orji, locked out and forcefully prevented different journalists accredited to cowl the actions of the PDP from gaining entry into the premises of the Nationwide Secretariat of our Party to conduct their professional duties.”
Ologunagba stated PDP fully dissociates itself from acts of violence and assault on members of the press and the establishment of the media which is crucial to its actions and the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.
He stated “For readability, whereas the PDP Nationwide Secretariat is closed for secretarial actions to allow our employees to take part within the Yuletide festivities with their households, it doesn’t preclude anyone significantly the press from getting access to the Secretariat to conduct their professional enterprise.
“Furthermore, Mr. Emmanuel Okoronkwo just isn’t within the safety division of the Party and has no enterprise in anyway concerning the regulation of actions into the complicated. He acted on his personal, in violation of democratic and all-inclusive ideas for the which the PDP is thought and out of doors the code of conduct guiding actions of employees on the PDP Nationwide Secretariat.
“The PDP is reputed for its uncompromising stand in assist and protection of the Constitutional freedom of the press and can’t by any means or below any guise in anyway interact in or condone any act that tends to abridge such professional freedom of the Media or any individual for that matter.
“The NWC, subsequently assures that the difficulty will probably be dealt with in strict compliance with the Party’s established Code of Conduct guiding actions of staffs on the PDP Nationwide Secretariat to function deterrent in opposition to such condemnable act which has no place in anyway within the character and comportment of the PDP as a political Party.”
He stated PDP regrets the incident and warranted of its unalloyed respect for the press, significantly members of the PDP Press Corps, as companions in progress for accountability, probity and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.
