Abia govt seals Tinubu’s campaign office in Umuahia
Abia State Government has sealed a campaign office belonging to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Partners (RHP) in Umuahia, the state capital.
The Renewed Hope Partners is the campaign structure for the President, being promoted across the South East zone by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
An official of the RHP, who declined to have his name in print, told Vanguard that he resumed work only to find the office sealed without warning.
Information pasted on the walls at the entrance to the office located at Ojike Street, Umuahia, by the Ministry of Lands and Housing stated that the property is in contravention of the state’s tax law.
It read: “Ministry of Lands and Housing. This property is in contravention of Sections 41 and 100 of the Abia State Tax Law (Codification and Consolidation), Law No. 7 of 2020. And it’s here by sealed.
“Any person, including the owner/ occupier, neighbour(s) or passer(s) by,who attempts to unseal this building is in contravention of the Abia state tax law No.7 of 2020. Be warned. Keep off.”
Efforts to obtain more information from the phone numbers listed on the document posted by the Ministry of Lands and Housing were unsuccessful, as they were unavailable at the time of filing this report.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/11/abia-govt-seals-tinubus-campaign-office-in-umuahia/
The Abia State Government on Tuesday sealed the office of the Renewed Hope Partners in Umuahia, sparking political tension and raising questions about the motive behind the action.
According to insider information, a source within Government House, Umuahia who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that the directive came from “above” as part of a calculated move to get back at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his refusal to visit Abia State to commission projects executed by the state government. Despite several invitations and efforts to lure the President to Abia, the source said the attempts were rebuffed, leading to growing resentment within the Otti's government.
The source further alleged that Governor Alex Otti, having reportedly faced repeated frustration in his attempts to formally join the APC, has now chosen to align with forces opposed to President Tinubu’s 2027 reelection bid. Sealing the Renewed Hope Partners office, he claimed, is one of the strategies being deployed to undermine the President’s influence and restrict APC activities in Abia State ahead of the 2027 elections.
As an alibi, the Otti government cited non-payment of taxes as the reason for sealing the Renewed Hope Partners office despite the fact that no formal process was initiated, no notification or demand notice, was issued. the government without any prior official correspondence used the courts to effect the clampdown.
It is becoming worrisome ahead of the coming political season as this pattern has become a recurring strategy in Abia State to ensure the APC is unable to hold political events in public facilities unless in their homes.
Recently, Abia Hotels in Umuahia was sealed by the state government despite a subsisting 25-year lease agreement on the property, the reason being that the hotel premises were used as the venue for the Renewed Hope Partners rally organized by the APC. Observers point to this as further evidence of a deliberate attempt to stifle opposition activity on the state.
Also recently the state government allegedly deployed armed thugs to disrupt Renewed Hope Partners rallies in Obingwa and Osisioma LGA,s, heightening concerns about a coordinated clampdown on opposition particularly the APC as the 2027 election season approaches.
He also added that because of the threats by the APC to take over the state in 2027 even stricter measures may soon be taken against the APC, which has increasingly become the major opposition force to the Alex Otti-led administration.
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