Olayiwola Matthew
Former Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has reacted to viral reports circulating on social media that he was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly stealing N1 trillion during his tenure.
The news claimed that the former Abia Governor was sentenced to death by hanging by an Abia State High Court after money was found in his secret foreign account.
But speaking in an interview with ABN TV on Tuesday, Ikpeazu dismissed the claims as laughable and mischievous, insisting that the entire story was fabricated to mislead the public.
“This is not news, it is laughable,” Ikpeazu told ABN.
Also reacting to the report, former Commissioner for Information in Abia State, John Okiyi Kalu described it as hate speech and urged the DSS to fish out those behind it.
Okiyi Kalu also claimed that the fake news was a cyber crime committed by people working for “Otti”, adding that similar fake news was recently published against Ikpeazu and credited to a popular Nigerian music star.
But responding to the claims by John Okiyi Kalu, the Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand distanced Governor Otti from the fake news, cautioning the former Commissioner against using the name of Governor Otti to gain financial favour from Ex-Governor Ikpeazu.
Ekeoma, who reacted through his official Facebook page, said that his principal could not have sponsored anyone to publish such a fake report.
“It is laughable to imagine that Governor Otti who played the most responsible and decent opposition politics in the history of Abia State would sponsor anyone to allege that the former Governor was sentenced to death for alleged corruption.
“What would Governor Otti stand to gain from such a rubbish report?” Ekeoma asked.