Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has said he is not in anyway angry with the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, Anthony Obinna, over his comments after an alleged attack at Funeral Mass in Owerri North, recently.
The governor said he has no score to settle with the cleric, contrary to media reports, just as he appealed to politicians in the state, as well as residents, to desist from creating such impression.
Governor Okorocha, who made the appeal in a press statement yesterday, he issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, noted that Owerri Diocese has always supported him as it overwhelmingly voted for him and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2011 and 201 5.
“Governor Okorocha and the APC won overwhelmingly in Owerri Municipal where most members of Owerri Catholic Diocese reside.
“And, more than 95 per cent of members of the diocese, including the archbishop’s senior brother and a frontline politician in the state, Sir Paddy Obinna, have remained, as we write, strong supporters of the governor and the Rescue Mission administration.
“In 2019, no doubt, members of the diocese will also vote for the governor’s choice for the governorship because they know the truth of this whole story. They know that the governor has never, in any way, offended the archbishop or the diocese.
They know that Governor Okorocha’s achievements in seven years have exceeded those of all his predecessors, put together, since the creation of the state in 1976.
And, they equally know that the governor has invested in the diocese more than those before him as governor, whether military or civilian.
“Even the reported incident at a funeral service at Ngor-Okpala, most members of the diocese were there and know the truth, beyond the propaganda of frustrated opposition in the state. And, luckily too, the archbishop had personally told the world that he was neither attacked nor manhandled by anybody,” the statement said.
However, Governor Okorocha pointed out that the only grudge he has with the cleric is his purported dislike for APC.
“The only issue is that the archbishop does not seem to like APC as a party and he does not hide it. He does not hide his affiliation to All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
“So, he finds it extremely difficult to be on the same page with President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Rochas Okorocha, who are products of APC. That is all,” Okorocha said.
-Sun