The Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Obasi Okibeh, has made clarifications on issues surrounding the 2023 gubernatorial bid of his principal, Ude Oko Chukwu.
This comes on the heels of an exchange of political brickbats by stakeholders and groups in Abia, wherein the State Deputy Governor was accused of misconduct and alleged failure to inform his boss, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu about his intention to succeed him before joining the 2023 Abia governorship race.
Last week, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Abia State, Onyebuchi Ememanka, had during a live radio programme, claimed that the Deputy Governor, Oko Chukwu did not inform his boss of his intention to run for the office of Governor of Abia State in the upcoming general election in 2023.
But dismissing the outbursts in a release issued to newsmen in Umuahia on Tuesday, Okibeh maintained that the state deputy governor visited his boss and duly informed him about his ambition to succeed him in 2023.
According to him, “we would have not bothered to join issues with the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor who obviously did not consult with his boss in making such unfounded statement meant to incite hatred and portray a nonexistent feud between the Governor and his Deputy.
Okibeh described Oko Chukwu as a man of repute of humility and loyalty, who could not have made known his governorship ambition without the knowledge and approval of his boss, and further described Ememanka’s claim as preposterous.
The release partly said, “However, details of the private discussion may not have been made available for Governor’s aides including Ememanka to feast on. The Deputy Governor even did not fail to further let his boss know of the day of his formal declaration at the State PDP Secretariat in Umuahia”.
