Ebonyi: I Didn’t Condemn PDP, APGA Candidates For Seeking Redress In Court – Nwifuru

The governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru has said that there is no truth to claims that he rejected the gubernatorial candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Bernard Odoh, along with their supporters in his administration.

The State Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, debunked the claims in a statement signed and released to the press in Abakaliki on Saturday.

He explained that the governor has never tried to withhold his forgiveness and cooperation from the opposition.

The commissioner also insisted that Nwifuru never condemned his opponents for seeking redress in court.

He urged Odii, Odoh, and other well-meaning citizens of the state to ignore any allegations or reports that suggest that the governor rejected accommodating them or their supporters in his government.

Okpor stated, “For the purpose of setting the records straight, the governor, in his usual forthrightness and sincerity of heart, simply narrated the arduous and unpleasant experiences he had during the avoidable litigations from the tribunal through the Appeal to the Supreme Court, where it was finally ruled in his favour.

“The Governor merely expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that one of them reneged on his words by serving him a lawsuit notice a day after their meeting, an action the Governor considers contradictory to his internalised values of integrity and reliability. He regretted the unwarranted prolonged litigations brought to the government and people of the state, and wished it had never happened.

“Governor Nwifuru did not, in any way, condemn his opponents for seeking redress according to their conscience in courts of competent jurisdiction. Recall that the governor, being a professing and practical democrat, after winning at the polls, immediately reached out to his opponents with the olive branch which was unfortunately rebuffed.”