Imo Governor Uzodinma refutes accusations of blocking Nnamdi Kanu’s release, cites PDP’s blackmail

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma has refuted allegations that he blocked President Bola Tinubu from aiding in the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The governor accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using this story as a form of blackmail ahead of the state’s upcoming governorship election on Saturday.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Public Communications, Collins Ughalaa, Governor Uzodinma asserted that the PDP’s actions were driven by their realization that they might lose the impending election. He maintained that the story about him preventing Tinubu from facilitating Kanu’s release is entirely false.

The statement reads in part: “We know that the disgruntled opposition party can do anything, including supporting or sponsoring terror in the state, but we thought the party still had some shame. However, the recent desperation to blackmail Governor Hope Uzodinma with the fake story that the governor is blocking the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu shows that the party is capable of doing any evil without scruples.

“In a fake story titled: ‘Uzodinma blocking the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu – Tinubu,’ and being circulated by the PDP and their agents, the party falsely accused the governor of blocking the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“The story is false in its entirety. Not only did President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not make the statement they falsely credited to him, the governor never made any move to block Kanu’s release, neither did he reach out to the President not to release Kanu. There is no reason for such a move whatsoever.”

Initial reports had claimed that Tinubu accused Uzodinma of preventing him from facilitating Kanu’s release during a meeting with Igbo businessmen in Abuja on Monday. However, the presidency denied these reports, stressing that Tinubu never made such a remark.