Emeka Ihedioha, governor-elect of Imo State, has accused officials of the state government of working to blackmail him.
He also said government officials were also working to undermine his inauguration on Wednesday as the governor of the state.
At a press conference on Saturday in Owerri, the state capital, the chairman of the governor-elect’s inauguration planning and handover committee, Chris Okewulonu, said the outgoing governor, Rochas Okorocha, had not assisted the committee towards ensuring a seamless inauguration.
Okewulonu said, “In the course of our work, we met thrice with the outgoing government’s team, believing that issues agreed upon will be strictly adhered to. Unfortunately, reverse proved to be the case.
“Rather, we have taken note of deliberate attempts by some hirelings of the state government to blackmail the incoming governor with baseless and spurious assertions.
“In the last couple of weeks, the mass media has been awash with N150m purportedly released by governor Okorocha to the incoming governor to assist him in the inauguration planning exercise.
“Let me restate for emphasis that no such money was ever released to this committee or to anybody else who is part of the incoming government of Emeka Ihedioha. We have not also received any form of assistance whatsoever from them.
“We are indeed piqued at the futile attempts by some busy-bodies to take undeserved glory for the wonderful achievements the incoming governor has recorded even before assumption of office.”
