The attention of Professor Gregory Ibe Campaign Organization has been drawn to a fallacious and mischievous publication circulating on the social media which quoted Professor Ibe as saying that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, “was not part of the plans for Igbo presidency”.
The misleading publication planted by mischief makers further claimed that Professor Ibe purportedly said that there was no arrangement for Obi to contest the 2023 presidential election.
Ordinarily we would not have bothered to dignify the publication and the obscure platform carrying it with a response but for the sake of the gullible folks who could easily be deceived by such tissue of lies.
We, therefore, wish to state clearly that Prof Ibe never granted any interview to the said medium, nor did he make the statements credited to him in the said publication.
It is not surprising that those who feel threatened by the rising political profile and swelling support for Prof Ibe across the state are desperately looking for ways and means to demarket him.
Such detractors are the masterminds of this mischievous publication simply aimed at pitching Prof Ibe against his Igbo brothers and supporters of Peter Obi.
The enemies of Prof Ibe, having run out of strategies to stop him or derail his governorship ambition, have re-sorted to cheap blackmail and outright falsehood to possibly whittle down his growing popularity and acceptance among the people.
We, therefore, wish to urge members of the public to discountenance the mischievous publication as it is nothing but a big lie from the pit of hell, even as our lawyers have been briefed to commence appropriate legal processes to repair the damages caused Prof Ibe while deterring subsequent acts of perjury.
The intendment of such evil publication is to cause disaffection and project Professor Ibe as anti-Igbo.
It is on record that Professor Ibe is a patriotic Igbo man who has made numerous sacrifices and immense contributions for advancement of Igbo cause, including such pioneering acts as initiating Igbo Uturu Cultural Carnival, Igbo Renaissance Centre, World Igbo Summit, serving as Consultant to the South East Delegation at the 2014 National Conference and the patriotic feat of thinking home by establishing Gregory University in Uturu. Subsequently, he definitely cannot begin to go against the Igbo cause at this stage.
Sleek Ogbonnaya Ogwo, ANIPR
Director,Media & Publicity
Prof Gregory Ibe Campaign Organization