The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has described the claim by the Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Funds (SPIRRPP), Chief Okoi Obono Obla, that he (Uzodinma) is among those affected by the federal government travel ban has been dismissed as a “baseless, lawless and a wicked concoction by a paid agent.”
The SPIPRPP chairman had at a recent press conference in Abuja announced Uzodimma’s name as one of those under its investigation who have been banned from traveling abroad by the federal government.
The outcome of the purported press conference by the SPIPRPP chairman was however published in some national dailys
While further reacting to Obla’s claim yesterday, the Hope Uzodimma Campaign Organisation dismissed the inclusion of the Senator’s name in the list as wrong, saying it was a baseless and lawless action, and cited a persisting court order which restrained the panel chairman from investigating the senator as evidence.
A statement issued in Owerri, the Imo State capital, by the Director of Media and Special Duties of the campaign organisation, Declan Emelumba, alleged that it was clear that Obla is a paid agent working for political opponents of the APC candidate because according to him, “in spite of a persisting court order restraining him from any further action against the senator, he (Obla) went ahead to include his name in the list just to satisfy his pay masters.”
According to the statement “On November 23, 2018, Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in suit No FHC/PH/FHR/211/2018 gave an order restraining the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Funds from doing anything pertaining to the contract between NPA and Niger Global, which was the basis of the panel’s claim that it was investigating Uzodinma’s company, Niger Global.”
The statement explained that the court order was served on Obla and was followed with a letter to him from the senator’s lawyer, Ogaju Dike, drawing his attention to the order, and wondered why he went ahead to disobey a valid court order if he did not have ulterior motives.
“We are aware that Obla is on the pay roll of the senator’s political opponents who are using him to sabotage his campaign for the governorship of Imo State. We know them. But Obla is not above the law, so even as desperate as he is to please his pay master(s), he should obey court orders if he is truly an agent of the federal government.
“As further proof that the panel chairman is working for the opposition, the statement recalled that he first started by accusing the APC state standard bearer of not declaring his assets then shifted to the Calabar channel contract when the assets issue collapsed on his face.
“Why is Obla so desperate to smear Senator Uzodinma’s image and why does he strike just on the eve of his major political event? His first action was on the eve of last day of substitution of candidates by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Now this is coming on the eve of the senator’s campaign flag off,” the organisation lamented in the statement.
