*Says “I’ ll never walk out or boycott any political debate”

 By Anayo Okoli

Umuahia – GOVERNOR Theodore Orji of Abia State has said he did not storm out of the political debate organized by the Catholic Church for governorship candidates for next month’s general elections.

Orji said he was not even informed that there was a political debate organized for them, but a political stakeholders’ forum only to realize that it was a political rally for members of the opposition PPA, his estranged party.

Governor Orji said he would never boycott or walk out on any political debate properly organized because he had a lot to tell Abia State electorate.

Chief Theodore Orji was said to have angrily stormed out of a political forum organized for governorship candidates in the state by the Catholic Church in Umuahia, the environment was hostile to him.

Organized by The Justice, Development and Peace/Caritas, JPDC, in collaboration with Kolping Society, all groups in the Catholic Church, to enable the governorship candidates sell their programmes to the voting public. It was held at the conference Hall of the Mater Dei, the headquarters of Umuahia Catholic Diocese.

But Orji has denied ever storming out of the debate, saying he was not invited there for a debate. According to his Chief Press Secretary, Kingslyey Emereuwa, “Governor Orji did not storm out of a debate and can never storm out of any political debate. So we are surprised to read it, there is no truth in that story.

“The truth was that the governor was notified of a forum of political candidates and stakeholders. And from information available to the governor, the organizers gave the impression that it was going to be a stakeholder’s forum where issues of importance were to be discussed.

The governor had a ceremony in Aba with  Aba Business Community and Aba Sport Club due to his respect for the Catholic Church and the organizers of the programme, he had to abridge his  trip to Aba to attend to that forum which had in attendance some govewrnorship candidates and other political parties.

“But to our greatest surprise, the forum that was billed for debate was converted to political rally by the PPA which {allegedly] hired miscreants to disrupt the other wise educating event.”