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November 20, (THEWILL) – Ebonyi State politics took a heated turn as Prince Leonard Okosun Ibiam, Media Aide to the All Progressives Congress Chairman, fired back at Chukwuma Odii, the People’s Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 elections, over allegations of financial mismanagement against Governor Francis Nwifuru.
The clash stems from a publication by Odii’s campaign team titled “Governor Ogbonnaya Nwifuru Profligacy is Leading Ebonyi to the Golgotha: Ebonyi State is Endangered (Part 1).”
In a strongly worded statement, Prince Ibiam described the publication as “malicious, fabricated, and haphazard,” dismissing it as an amateurish attempt to discredit the governor.
“My attention has been drawn to the baseless and defamatory publication authored by the PDP’s 2023 gubernatorial candidate, Chukwuma Odii,” Ibiam said.
He criticised Moses Idika, the head of Odii’s media team, calling him “incompetent” and “ignorant,” citing a misspelling of the governor’s name in the publication as evidence of negligence.
“It is perplexing that a supposed media head could not spell the governor’s name correctly, writing Ogbonnanya instead of *Ogbonna*. Such avoidable errors call into question his mental fitness,” Ibiam said.
Ibiam also defended the governor’s reconstruction of the Chuba Okadigbo Airport runway in Onueke, a project criticised in the PDP publication.
He accused Odii of lacking vision, stating that the airport’s rehabilitation has already boosted land values and created economic opportunities for locals.
“For Odii, who claims to be an international businessman, to question the importance of this project is shocking. This airport has the potential to transform the state’s economy, and the governor should be commended for his foresight,” Ibiam argued.
Taking a swipe at the opposition, Ibiam urged Odii and his supporters to focus on constructive criticism rather than what he termed “unsubstantiated attacks” on Governor Nwifuru.
“It’s time to tame the street rhetoric from individuals who lack genuine contributions to the state’s development. Ebonyians deserve better than the embarrassment these baseless accusations bring to our state,” Ibiam concluded.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
