By Victor Ahiuma-Young

OWERRI—Governor Rochas  Okorocha, yesterday, discredited report that he was making moves to return to People’s Democratic Party, PDP, saying it was not only   baseless, but also blamed Imo State PDP for the story.

Okorocha, in a statement by Sam Onwuemeodo, his Senior Special Assistant on Media, said what made the report laughable was that it was credited to a strange group, Imo Progressives and Consultative Assembly, and also with two vague names, Nze Benjamin Irohah, and Benjamin Ogoke, signing as coordinator and secretary.

The statement read: To make the falsehood look real, they said for the fact that two PDP governors, Chief T.A. Orji of Abia State and Gosdswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State attended the wedding of Governor Okorocha’s daughter last weekend, it was part of the Imo governor’s  negotiation to join the PDP, and they had followed the false claim up by asking President Goodluck Jonathan not to allow Governor Okorocha to join the PDP. As a busy government we won’t allow Nigerians especially Imo people to be deceived.

“The PDP in Imo State was responsible for the falsehood.  They first planted the farce in an Owerri based tabloid, we ignored them, they decided to hide under a motley group to push the belated lies to national newspapers.  It all shows the pitiable level the party has degenerated to in Imo state.      “They do all these to deceive the president by giving him wrong picture of the status of the party in the state.

“If truth is sacred, we owe Nigerians the truth. And the truth on this matter is that Governor Okorocha has never contemplated, and to say the least, does not think about joining the PDP, because there is no reason for that either at the moment or   in the nearest future especially when the  PDP  is now stagnant in Imo State, thinking about which leg to put forward first.

“The reason they gave for coming up with this latest gimmick could explain the whole drama.  Governor Okorocha is not, in any way, in enemity with any PDP governor or member, and does not have any rift with Mr. President.  Politics does not make people enemies.”