2023 Presidency: Uzodinma, EFCC’s Antics Cannot Stop Me – Okorocha

• Denies any invitation from the anti-graft agency

Former Governor of Imo State and current Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, says no amount of dirty antics by his successor in office, Governor Hope Uzodinma, and hounding by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can derail the New Nigeria presidential project come 2023.

He said the New Nigeria agenda, out to address poverty as the major cause of complaints and chaos in the country, remains on course despite some clearly devious plans by political opponents led by Governor Uzodinma and his associates.

Speaking against the backdrop that the EFCC has filed N2.9 billion fraud allegation case against him, Senator Okorocha said it is not surprising that Governor Uzodimma’s media handlers were the first to break the story, shortly after his Monday’s declaration of interest in contesting the 2023 presidential polls in Abuja.

The Imo-born politician, who addressed newsmen in Owerri, through his Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, said going by the machinations from the Imo Government House, it was expected that Uzodimma’s media aides acted as the Public Relations Officer of the anti-graft Commission by going to town with the said report shortly after the well-received public declaration.

He said unfortunately for its purveyors, the said EFCC’s case story failed to achieve its sinister motive of killing or denting the successful presidential outing, adding that there was no invitation from the EFCC as at the time report on the purported case broke out in the media space.

Further stating his case, the former governor said; “It may be interesting, for patriotic Nigerians, both at home and in diaspora, to hear that, the story of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, taking Senator Rochas Okorocha to court over N2.9bn fraud allegation, came from the media handlers of Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, as breaking news. We read the story from them.

“And they had waited until the end or an hour, after the World Press Conference Okorocha had, over his interest to run for the office of President in 2023. They had wanted to inject a virus into that wonderful and exciting outing and the reason was they had waited for the event to come to an end before the nauseating breaking news from Gov Uzodinma’s media campaigners.

“Our innocent question, therefore, is this; when did the media handlers of Governor Uzodinma become the Public Relations Officers (PROs) or Special Advisers on media, to the EFCC, that is not part of the government in Imo?

“We are not shouting that this witch-hunt would stop, but for the world to see and know how the government in Imo, has been executing its anti-Okorocha plot or acting the anti-Okorocha Script to the best of its ability and that of its superintendent.”

Maintaining that his principal has nothing to hide or be afraid of in the circumstance, the media aide submitted; “As we write, Okorocha is yet to be served off the EFCC Case. But those who knew about it were in a hurry to give it out as breaking news. We believe that it is a natural law that there is a limit to which to pursue someone unjustly too.

“Okorocha had honoured the EFCC invitations at any given time. And we could not reconcile or fathom why Okorocha should be reading EFCC Case against him from Governor Uzodinma’s media handlers, even when he has not been served. We won’t talk about the Federal High Court Order on EFCC for Enforcement of Okorocha’s fundamental Human Rights. We won’t talk much about that. We would only continue to watch the most recent unfolding drama.

“The drama of serving or informing Okorocha about a case against him, through the media agents of the Imo governor. For the 2023 Presidency, Okorocha’s fate is in the hand of God. If God says, Okorocha would be the President of Nigeria in 2023, he could make all these attacks and jigsaw, become ladders for Okorochaen rout to Aso Villa. With God, nothing is impossible in Heaven and on Earth.”

However, making reference to how his son-in-law, was roughly handled, arrested, and ferried away like a common criminal by security agents allegedly hired by the Imo state government, Senator Okorocha said; “It is also not surprising that the same method adopted in the invasion of St. Peter’s Anglican church Eziama-Obaire and abduction of Uche Nwosu on Sunday, December 26, 2021, has similarities with the stampede or commando method adopted in the reported Monday, January 31, 2022, EFCC Case against Okorocha.

“In the case of Nwosu, they waited until the outing Church Service for the late mother started before invading the Church with the attendant sporadic shooting and the abduction of Nwosu.”

“In the case of the EFCC matter on Monday, January 31, 2022, they waited until the end of the World Press Conference. And they had done that to kill or destroy the successful outing”, he alleged.