Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has refuted allegations suggesting that he obstructed President Bola Tinubu from assisting in the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Uzodinma accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using this story as a means of blackmail ahead of the upcoming Saturday’s gubernatorial election in the state.
In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Public Communications, Collins Ughalaa, Governor Uzodinma stated that the PDP had turned to blackmail due to their awareness that they might lose the approaching gubernatorial election.
He firmly asserted that the narrative of him preventing Tinubu from facilitating Kanu’s release is entirely untrue.
The statement includes the following: “We are aware that the disgruntled opposition party can resort to any means, including supporting or sponsoring chaos in the state, but we assumed that the party still had some dignity. However, their recent desperate attempt to smear Governor Hope Uzodinma with the false story that he is obstructing the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu demonstrates the party’s willingness to engage in any wrongdoing without moral constraints.
In a fabricated story titled ‘Uzodinma blocking the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu – Tinubu,’ circulated by the PDP and their agents, the party falsely accused the governor of preventing the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The entire story is untrue. Not only did President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not make the statement falsely attributed to him, the governor never took any action to obstruct Kanu’s release, nor did he approach the President to request that Kanu not be released. There is no rationale for such an action whatsoever.”
Previous reports had suggested that Tinubu accused Uzodinma of hindering him from facilitating Kanu’s release during a meeting with Igbo businessmen in Abuja on Monday. However, the presidency has refuted these reports, emphasizing that Tinubu never made such a statement.