Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has denied an allegation of forgery leveled against him by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in the state, Chief Friday Nwosu, saying he is not standing trial in court for forgery of any sort, adding that nobody was urging Nwosu to withdraw the case.
Nwosu had accused the governor of forging his tax certificate.
But Mr. Ikpeazu, who reacted to the allegation through his Chief Press Secretary, Godwin Adindu, described the allegation as ‘spurious’.
He said: “His allegation is spurious because it amounts to the height of irresponsibility for him to be canvassing that a government functionary, who pays his taxes through the pay-as-you-earn system, forged his tax certificate.
“Again, as a lawyer, if he has respect for the ethics of his profession, he cannot jump to the press with the facts that are already before the court.
“It is only in this country that somebody who came fifth in a party primary election with only five votes, would be asking the court to declare him the winner of the election.
“The governor’s team of lawyers is defending the suit and he should go back to court and prove his allegation and not to resort to the pages of newspapers for a campaign of blackmail that can never solve his problem.
“I put it to him that this blackmail tactics will not help him at all. Nobody is urging Nwosu to surrender or to withdraw his case and nobody will ever persuade him to capitulate. We believe in the Rule of Law and Nwosu should allow the courts to run their course.
“He is not an issue in Obingwa not to talk of the state”.
“Let me also inform him that Governor Okezie is not the type anyone can blackmail into compromise”, Mr. Adindu added. (Information Nigeria)
