The lead story in The Sun on September 1, with the headline “Abia stinks’’, credited to Arthur Eze, continues to elicit condemnation from Nigerians, including prominent personalities who attended the event where he allegedly spoke.
This is because the story is widely believed to be false.
The charges
Prince Arthur EzeEze was quoted by the paper to have said at the Mchael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia, venue of the 23rd anniversary celebration of the creation of the state on August 27, that Abia stinks and is the dirtiest in the country.
Abia State was created in August 1991 by the Ibrahim Babangida administration alongside Osun, Delta, Jigawa, and others.
Eze was quoted as saying that garbage and bad roads abound in Abia while the people are really suffering as one can perceive on their faces.
He was said to have asked if there were no elders, senators, and state lawmakers and questioned their role in the development of the state.
He was also quoted to have told Governor Theodore Orji that if he does not know what to do again in terms of solution, he should write to President Goodluck Jonathan and urge him to come to his aid, insisting that Abia truly needs help.
The state government has issued a rebuttal, warning the perceived mastermind to stop insulting Abia or face the wrath of the law.
Abia alleges deliberate distortion
Abia State Information and Strategy Commissioner, Eze Chikamnayo, told journalists in Umuahia that the report was a deliberate distortion of facts borne out of malice to discredit all the giant efforts of the Orji administration.
He argued that The Sun misquoted Eze who was obviously referring to the deplorable state of the Enugu-Port Harcourt federal road currently receiving attention through the intervention of Orji.
Pointing accusing fingers at former Abia State Governor, Orji Kalu, for mischief and for being the mastermind of the story, the government frowned at the attack on the people of Abia by The Sun and its publisher.
Chikamnayo said the state government condemned the behaviour of Kalu for using his medium, The Sun, to attack the administration of Orji and disparage Abia people, especially the elders.
He maintained that Eze never said “Abia stinks” but rather told the audience at the Michael Okpara Auditorium about his awful experience travelling on the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway from Enugu to Umuahia.
“Apart from describing the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway as being impassable, [Eze] called on the federal government to come to the rescue of the South East zone as almost all the federal roads in the geopolitical zone are in a very deplorable condition,” Chikamnayo recounted.
The state government threatened to take legal action against Kalu and The Sun if the attacks continue.
Other dignitaries who attended the event
The Abia Day celebration was attended by a large number of dignitaries, including former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Azubuike Ihejirika; wife, Nnenna; wife of the late Head of State, Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi; Anagha Ezikpe, and Security Exchange Commission (SEC) Director General, Arunma Oteh.
They also included Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Chairman, Austin Akobundu; Senator Nkechi Nwogu; Uzodinma Okpara, son of the late Premier of Eastern Nigeria, Michael Okpara; and Abia State PDP Chairman, Emmanuel Nwaka.
Commentators doubt story
Some of those who attended the event expressed shock at the report by The Sun and dismissed it as “reckless and done in bad faith.”
They said there was no time that Eze made such disparaging comments and would not have made such a sweeping allegation being a guest and good friend of Orji.
Bob Ogbuagu, one of the founding fathers of Abia State, insisted that Eze could not have made the statements, given the giant strides of Orji.
“I have said at different fora that this is Abia’s finest hour in terms of genuine development. Eze couldn’t have said such a thing and did not say it. This is not the type of journalism we preached.
“The report I think is misleading and I think it’s better to hear from Arthur Eze.
“There is nothing bad in Arthur Eze voicing his concern on the state of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway since he drove into the state through Enugu and passed through the Okigwe section of the highway, which is in a very terrible state but to twist the message and propagate falsehood is not in line with the proper ethics of journalism,” argued Ogbuagu, a newspaper veteran and former Managing Director of Champion Newspapers Limited.
It was learnt that since Kalu parted ways with Orji, theirs has been a cat and dog relationship, as Kalu reportedly vowed to use every legal weapon to battle his successor.
Scion of the Okpara family, Uzodinma, said there is no controversy that Abia is working under Orji, and “any effort made to discredit the Theodore Orji administration will not work because he has done so much for Ndi-Abia.”
He warned that it is not a good thing for a former governor to use his newspaper to run down his successor, instead of assisting him to build the state.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that Abia has enjoyed great development under Orji, our great Ochendo. We have not had it so good, the records are there. This is the time the foundation of Abia State has been laid and for God’s sake, this governor deserves great commendation.”
Taking things for granted
Many commentators doubt the truth of the story, arguing that it would not have been reported by The Sun alone given the huge presence of the media at the event.
Pascal Nwankwo, a legal practitioner and public affairs commentator, said: “How can a story of such magnitude be reported only in The Sun newspapers and no other paper?
“The occasion was on Wednesday and the story was reported on Monday, five days after. It makes the story a laughable one and shows that it was planted to cause mischief.
“The Enugu-Port Harcourt highway is not a state road but that of the federal government, so why would it attract condemnation for the governor? I am aware the contract has been awarded and this is because of the good relationship between Abia State and the federal government.
“Kalu is lucky that he is dealing with a God-fearing governor. Can he do what he is doing to Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State? Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State? Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State or Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State?
“They will simply run him out of the state. I think he is taking too much if you ask me.
“What did he do as a governor of the state? When he was governor, Government House was a rented apartment and it is now that Orji is putting a befitting structure.
“Was Kalu able to build a state secretariat as a governor? It was rented apartments that were used and how was Umuahia when he was a governor?
“Which structure can he point as a legacy project that he left behind? I think this propaganda he is doing, maybe unknown to him, is diminishing whatever good impression people had about him.”
Enquiries by TheNiche revealed that Eze has called Orji to apologise for the embarrasment, saying he was taking up the issue with The Sun.
Eze, a multi-billionaire based in Abuja, was said to have insisted that “I didn’t speak to The Sun privately. The statements credited to me were made publicly and those in that hall know what I said.”
However, concerned Abia indigenes argued that it is not enough for him to apologise to Orji privately.
“He should address a press conference to publicly disown the report,” said an elder statesman, who was in the auditorium on the day.
Orji told TheNiche in a telephone interview that he is not worried about the compaign of calumny mounted against him by Kalu.
Abians will be the ultimate judge, he said.
Way out
Most Abia elders who spoke with TheNiche on condition of anonymity said the best thing is for Kalu to find a way to reconcile with Orji and join hands with him to build the state.
This, they counselled, is the only way for him to regain political relevance in the state.