Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka

Anambra State governor, Chief Wilie Obiano has declared that late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu will forever live in his heart. His comment was an apparent response to the recent statement of the late iconic leader’s widow, Amb Bianca Ojukwu against Anambra State governor.

 Obiano stated this while debunking online reports quoting his wife, Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano as invoking “thunder to fire” Amb Ojukwu, over her outburst against her husband, Governor Obiano during the second Ojukwu memorial lecture at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) Igbariam.

In a press statement by the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Emeka Ozumba, the governor’s office said that the governor’s wife never made any comment against Amb. Ojukwu, noting that because of the love and respect Obiano has for Ojukwu, he ensured that his name was immortalised by signing into law the bill changing the name of the Anambra State University to COOU.

The statement reads in parts: “Dr. Mrs. Obiano is proud of the tremendous support she has given her husband over the years to immortalise Dim Ojukwu.

“One of the remarkable things Governor Obiano has done is to ensure that Ojukwu’s place in history is secure, is signing into law the bill changing the name of the Anambra State University to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.

 “Of course, the annual public lecture at the university in honour of the great APGA leader has the imprimatur of the Obianos. Dim Ojukwu will always live in their hearts as an iconographic figure. Legendary leaders like Ojukwu do not die.”

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Furthermore, the statement says: “The attention of the Office of the Governor of Anambra State has been drawn to a spurious statement on the social media ascribed to Dr. Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano using graceless language on Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, wife of the late great leader of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Eze Igbo Gburugburu.

 “We would like to inform the public that Dr. Mrs Obiano, never made such a statement either in public or in private. She cannot, in any circumstance, make a statement like this, marked by a total lack of decorum and elegance. Those who forged the statement are so unintelligent that they could not state whether the so-called reaction by Dr. Mrs. Obiano was in a news release or an interview, nor could they state the place where she ostensibly made the statement or the day.

 “The forgery is the work of political con artists who operate at the basest level possible. They work in cahoots with shadowy characters who are not happy at the phenomenal progress which Anambra State has recorded in various areas in recent years, leading the whole country in such fields as financial resource management, security, education, peace and stability, among others.

“It is pure disinformation to allege that the Anambra State government under Governor Willie Obiano has been paying Dr. Mrs Ojukwu N20m monthly. It is also a spurious claim to allege that Governor Obiano has built a house for Mrs Ojukwu in Nnewi.

“What the state administration has done to Ambassador Ojukwu is to extend to her courtesies which should be accorded the wife of the APGA leader. For instance, she has for years been a member of the APGA Board of Trustees. She remains so to this day, despite her tantrums against the party.

 “Dr. Mrs Obiano is, like her husband, committed to harmony and social progress in Anambra State. She is not held hostage by the past or by political cleavages. She takes her Christian faith seriously, and so bears no grudges or animosity towards anyone or group. Far from ever associated with a malediction, the wife of the Anambra governor is famous for her belief in the values of forgiveness and reconciliation. Therefore, she is not the kind of person who can invoke “thunder to fire” any creature of God, however disappointed she may be with the person.”