APC Congress: Threat won’t stop investigation of Enugu ex-Speaker, Odo – Party chair, Nwoye

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State said on Friday that nothing would deter it from probing the activities of a former Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eugene Odo.

This is coming amidst claims that Odo was one of those who hijacked the process during the last Saturday’s ward congress in the State, an allegation the former lawmaker has denied.

State Chairman of the party, Dr. Ben Nwoye told reporters in Enugu that the party was worried about the role allegedly played by Odoh in hoarding party’s ward congress materials during the exercise.

Odoh had through his Counsel, Ozor Ochiagha Ugochukwu, notified of his intention to sue Nwoye for alleged defamation should he fail to retract comments he made against him during a meeting where he swore in 260 elected ward executives of the party.

Odoh said he would be asking for one billion naira as damages when the matter gets to court.

He gave Nwoye till August 20, to render an apology and retract his comments.

But responding to the development, Nwoye insisted that the said pre-action notice was a ploy to deter the party from continuing with the ongoing investigation.

He stated that no amount of suit or pre-action notice would stop the investigation, stressing that the party was on course

He said: “I have not seen the pre action notice as I speak to you. I am in Enugu and lives in Enugu. I have an office but I only learnt about the pre-action notice through the social media. Assuming the letter exists, Odo knows where to serve me.

“It is a cooked up drama to see if I will be deterred but I will not back down. The investigation must continue to unravel all the atrocities that Odoh committed during the congress. It is a ploy to gag the party from continuing the investigation.

“He should make it fast other than waiting till 20th of August, else, I will be in court before him because he has been going about sponsoring defamatory statements against my person and the party. But when we get to the bridge, we will know how to cross it.”

Nwoye, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for standing for the truth over the ward congress of the party in the State.

He said the inauguration of the ward executives in the State stands and urged the members to continue to discharge their lawful responsibilities.