A group of Imo State women in the the All Progressives Congress, APC, have accused Governor Rochas Okorocha of pressurizing them to stage a protest against President Goodluck Jonathan when he visited the state yesterday for a town hall meeting with traditional rulers.
The women disclosed to journalists that they had arrived at the former chambers of the Imo Women Development Centre, WDC, to attend a seminar, only to realize that they were being mobilised for a protest against the use of the place by some traditional rulers, led by the embattled Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, to receive President Jonathan.
They however expressed regret after being deceived into embarrassing the President. The aggrieved women disclosed that the state government had regularly deceived women and children in the state to fight the Governor’s imagined political battles.
One of the women from Okigwe Local Government Area, who gave her name as Mrs. Ngozi Anorue said: “We were invited by the governor for a seminar at the centre. But we didn’t know that they only brought us here to protest against the president of our country.
“They invited us as women leaders from our communities; that’s why you could see hundreds of us.
“We thought we were coming for CGC seminar as they told us; we didn’t know we were called out to come and fight their fight.
“Please stop blaming me. Do I have any problem with President Jonathan? I don’t. So, why should I come and begin to protest against the President.
In fact, most of us believe that we will vote for President Jonathan and later vote for Rochas. So, we were deceived to protest against President Jonathan.”
The protesters had blocked the roads to the centre, a situation which led to policemen and soldiers dispersing them using canisters, after all appeals for them to leave the venue were ignored.
Some of the women sustained injuries during their scuffle with the police and soldiers.
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