Ihekweme got N100m to rubbish Uzodimma ahead of 2027, group alleges

•Nobody can afford me, says ex-commissioner, dares accusers

Former Commissioner in Imo State, Dr Fabian Ihekweme, has been accused of being sponsored by a businessman and serial governorship candidate in the state to dent the image of Governor Hope Uzodimma ahead of the 2027 elections in Imo.

The Executive Director of the Imo Democratic Alliance for Transparency (IDAT), Marvis Udechukwu, dropped the bombshell in a press briefing in Abuja.

He said that the unnamed politician reportedly met with Ihekweme last week, in Abuja, where N50 million was released to him “for a satisfactory job so far,” while a balance of the same amount is to be paid shortly, making it N100 million for the alleged dirty job.

In a telephone chat with The Guardian, yesterday, the former commissioner noted that the allegation is laughable, boasting that no one could buy him.
He said: “No man can buy me because I have already been bought by Imo people. I am working for my people and no amount of blackmail will deter me.”

Ihekweme also dared his accusers to reveal the identity of the “serial governorship candidate,” so the world would know him.

“We have gone beyond this kind of cheap propaganda. It does not hold water anymore. Imo people are begging for answers from the numerous allegations against the state government and the governor. We cannot be distracted from the main issues.

“However, since they know the serial governorship candidate that paid me, what stops them from mentioning his name,” he added.
Udechukwu said the investigation carried out by his group revealed that “Ihekweme is nothing but a cheap mercenary whose sponsors have been exposed.”

He disclosed that because of the gravity of the allegations Ihekweme had been heaping on Uzodimma, the group was planning legal action against him. “Although most of what he has written against Uzodimma amounts to criminal libel, we intend to institute an action in court for him to prove the allegations, since it is trite law that he who alleges, proves.”

According to him, contrary to the image of a civil rights crusader, Ihekweme is nothing but a mercenary after his pecuniary gains.

He wondered why, as a commissioner under Uzodimma, he failed to resign, if indeed those allegations against the governor were true.

“Why did he have to wait until he was sacked before he discovered that there were anomalies and misappropriation of funds in the government? Again, this is the same man who, as late as October last year, campaigned for the re-election of Uzodimma as governor. Was he not aware of the shortcomings in government or were his eyes opened when he was not appointed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) as he had boasted to his friends?” Udechukwu asked.

He announced that the group was also planning to prosecute Ihekweme for the offences for which he was removed as a commissioner, especially the ones concerning the theft and sales of government property.