The All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has dismissed Governor Rochas Okorocha’s recent assertion that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) relied on a forged court order to substitute his son in-law’s name, as a blatant lie. Okorocha had on Thursday said: “Information reaching me shows that a fake court order was used in removing the name of the candidate of APC in Imo State which is Uche Nwosu. That report seems to be very authentic and that is what INEC may have relied on to do what they did.
“This is because as at today in the morning till around 2p.m., Nwosu’s name was still there to be published in line with the two court orders supporting his candidature.” Reacting to Okorocha’s claims, Uzodinma noted that Imo people are aware that Okorocha had made heavy investments in lies; had built his life and career on lies and as such he was not surprised that the embattled governor was resorting to ‘desperate lies’ in his bid to recover a lost and concluded primary election. Speaking through the Director of Media and Special Duties of the Hope Uzodinma Campaign Organisation, Declan Emelumba, the Senator said yesterday that the name of Okorocha’s son in-law, Uche Nwosu, was never at any point submitted to INEC by APC, so there couldn’t have been any substitution as claimed by the governor. Emelumba noted that Senator Uzodinma, as the governorship candidate of the APC in Imo State has an acknowledgement slip from INEC dated October 25 acknowledging his governorship nomination form submitted by the APC.
He therefore challenged Governor Okorocha to produce Nwosu’s acknowledgement slip from INEC to substantiate his claim. “You know APC cannot submit two governorship candidates to INEC, so let Okorocha produce the evidence that Nwosu’s name was ever submitted to INEC through the acknowledgement slip from INEC or accept that he shamelessly lied to Nigerians with the intention of misleading the public and deceiving the few stragglers still hanging around his failed administration,” the statement read.