Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo state on Monday August 26 has denied claims that one of the FBI fraud suspects, Chika Odionyenma sponsored his 2019 governorship election, stating that those linking him to the fraudulent activities of the suspect are only being mischievous.
The governor denounced Chika Odionyenma who is reportedly in hiding since the release of the FBI’s list in a statement shared by his Special Assistant on New Media, Izuchukwu Akwarandu.
In the statement, the governor insisted that the fraud case against Odionyenma is personal and that he was appointed as a member of the committee that oversaw his inauguration because he is an indigene of the state.
He further disclosed that the former member of Governor Ihedioha’s inaugural committee who is one of the 77 suspected Nigerian fraudsters arrested by the FBI, had no fraud case against him anywhere in the world when he was appointed.
The statement released by Akwarandu also reads: “He is an Imo State son and it was in that capacity that the governor attended the programmes that he organised. Moreover, those programmes were meant to empower the people and you know that the governor is a man of the people.
“It is important to note that as of the time the governor appointed him into the inauguration committee, there was no fraud case hanging around his (Odionyenma) neck anywhere in the world.”
