Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, in a statement yesterday, said: “The attention of the Imo State Governor and chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum has been drawn to a social media (Facebook) report with the caption ‘Tinubu, others, kill Kogi Guber candidate – Okorocha’, written by one Olutoyosi Omotoso.
“In the basically untrue report, the author claimed that the Imo governor had accused the former Lagos State governor and one of the key pillars of the APC in the country, Senator Bola Tinubu, and others he didn’t mention, of being responsible for the death of the APC governorship candidate.
“The report came up Sunday (November 22, 2016) evening and of course, few hours after the news of the death of the Kogi Prince was still being doubted by most Nigerians.
“In the report, the author, however, failed or refused to mention or tell his audience whether Okorocha had made that claim at a press conference or in a press statement. But unfortunately and unintelligently, he said the Imo governor spoke on phone to say that.
“And the follow-up question would immediately be: on what ground would the Imo governor call the author on phone to tell her who killed Audu and who didn’t kill him?
“The truth of the matter is that the report was totally false, even on the face value. It cannot pass any logic to be believed. It was written in bad faith.
“Even at that, the language of the story could not be Okorocha’s for those who know him and for those who have been following his speeches. He does not talk like an immature speaker.
“For instance, the writer quoted the governor to have said ‘we are not unaware of their antics and plans to field Audu’s deputy, Mr. Abiodun Faleke, after the programmed death of his boss’.
“Okorocha does not drag his sentences or speak disjointed grammar. The mischief is very obvious for all men and women of goodwill to see in the story.”
The governor’s aide argued that on the day Audu was reported to have died, Okorocha was presiding over the meeting of the Southeast Governors, Ohanaeze leaders, traditional rulers and National Assembly members at Enugu State Government House on pro-Biafra protests and agitations.
Okorocha’s spokesman challenged the writer of the story to also publish the particulars of the call in question, the number with which the governor called her, the time and why the governor could have chosen to call her.
The statement emphasised that Okorocha was not quarrelling with Tinubu, adding that the “envisaged rift between the duo only exist in the imaginations of those who have chosen the path of dishonour, because only dishonourable people could have authored such an inglorious write-up”.
The governor, however, mourned the APC governorship candidate.
He said Audu’s death came when no one expected it.
“But God knew why he allowed it to happen a few poles to his coming back as the governor of that state,” he added.
Tags
Politics