Feud with Ihedioha deepens as ex-gov alleges threat to family members’ lives
Immediate past governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha has demanded an apology from the state government over the alleged assault on his daughter, Mrs. Uloma Rochas-Nwosu.
It was alleged that a member of the Imo State Committee on Recovery of Moveable Assets slapped Uloma when a team of the committee had stormed All In, one of the business premises of the former governor in Owerri.
In a statement issued by Okorocha’s Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo yesterday, the former governor felt bad over the alleged assault on his daughter.
But chairman of the committee, Jasper Ndubuaku, denied the allegation, stressing that the team obtained a search warrant to search all suspected premises.
“On Friday, July 26, 2019, a member of the Committee on Recovery of Government Property set up by Governor Emeka Ihedioha and led by Jasper Ndubuaku slapped Okorocha’s daughter.
“She (Uloma) had gone to the furniture store owned by her mother to know why members of the committee invaded the premises and began to tamper with the items including those in containers, especially when the EFCC had marked the shop for investigation following the committee’s petitions.
“It, therefore, became necessary to ask Ihedioha and his government to apologise to Mrs. Uloma Rochas-Nwosu, the family and the former governor.
But responding, Ndubuaku said the committee was not on a vendetta mission, saying it had valid search warrant from the court to search any premises suspected to be having the state government’s property and recover them.
Meanwhile, Okorocha yesterday raised the alarm over alleged threat to the lives of Uloma-Nwosu and other members of his family, claiming that the threats were from the state government.
But in a swift response, Governor Ihedioha dismissed the allegation as mere blackmail, which he insisted, would not stop him from recovering all stolen state’s assets.
Speaking through his Personal Assistant, Dr. Ebere Nzewuji in Abuja, Okorocha had claimed that a top government official in the state allegedly directed thugs to attack his daughter in Owerri.
He said that the thugs were sighted in a trending video holding Mrs. Nwosu hostage, while claiming that they were ordered to seize her vehicle until the top Imo government functionary arrived the scene.
He noted that the incident threw people in the area into panic, as they scampered for their dear lives.
However, Ihedioha dismissed the allegation, describing it as unfounded, just as he insisted that Okorocha’s blackmail would not deter him from recovering movable government assets allegedly stolen during the immediate past administration.
Also, Special Adviser on Media to the governor, Steve Osuji, maintained that no appointee of the Ihedioha assaulted Okorocha’s daughter as being alleged.