By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodimma has described his arrest story trending online as totally false, accusing Governor Rochas Okorocha of sponsoring the story to damage his image.
The Imo senator disclosed this on Monday in a statement signed by his the Director of Media and special duties of the Campaign organization, Declan Emelumba, made available to newsmen.
The statement reads in part:
“There is absolutely no iota of truth in the story trending online that the APC Governorship Candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodimma was arrested yesterday by the special Presidential investigation panel for recovery of Public Property, the Hope Uzodimma Campaign Organisation has declared.
According to him, the story was planted by Governor Rochas Okorocha and his co-horts out of their dare-devil desperation to damage the image of the distinguished Senator before the Imo electorate who are poised to vote for him in 2019.
Describing the arrest news as fake, baseless, unfounded and absolutely false, without any iota of truth, the statement said Okorocha has refused to come to grips with the reality that his son-in-law will not succeed him as governor and is going all out to damage APC and its governorship candidate in next year’s election just to see if he can substantiate his false claim that there can be no APC in Imo state without him.
The statement wondered when it became the duty of the Chairman of the panel Chief Obono-Obala to send messages to newsmen “if there was any arrest, wondering if is it not the press department of the panel that will issue such a statement to the entire media.
It continued; it is very obvious that Okorocha and his people are behind this evil story. They have planned so much against the APC Governorship Candidate, from the phony dud-cheque issue to a nonexistent non assets declaration charge. Their latest plot is this Calabar dredging contract. However they should know that the company handling the Calabar dredging contract is Calabar Channels Management Company in which Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has 60% equity shares. So if there is anybody to be arrested for anything then it is the Managing Director of NPA and not a minority partner, Niger Global, in which Sen. Uzodimma is a shareholder.”
According to the statement, there is clear evidence that this is a failed plot by the Governor and his men. The fact that simultaneously as they planted the online story, their own so called state publicity secretary of APC Imo State, Onwuasonya FCC Jones, issued a press release celebrating the false arrest and even said in the statement that it was from their investigation that they found out about the “arrest” of the senator, shows clearly that they are behind the whole plot.
