N350m poll cash: I’ve nothing to hide – Udenwa

A former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa Thursday debunked reports that he was detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for refusing to keep to the terms of an administrative bail earlier granted him.

He said he has nothing to hide.

Udenwa was said to have been detained on Wednesday in connection with alleged financial scandal during last year’s presidential election.

According to EFCC, Udenwa has been under investigation as a State Co-ordinator for the Presidential Campaign Organisation of PDP in Imo State for collecting N350, 000,000 poll cash.

The former governor, in a statement by his media aide Peter Agba Kalu, said the allegation that he violated his bail terms was “very grave” and portrayed him as unreliable.

He said the reports implied that he may have other sinister motive for not reporting when needed, adding that they put his guarantor in jeopardy.

According to him, through a May 13 letter, he applied and obtained permission to travel abroad for medical treatment. As result, EFCC released his International Passport.

“The Commission scheduled his next visit to be13th August 2016. This date was agreed by both parties, not realising that it was a Saturday, a non-working day by the Commission. On return, he contacted the officer in charge and agreed a new date of 18th August.

“Surprisingly, on 16th August, His Excellency, while in Port Harcourt for the PDP convention, got a call from his guarantor, that he was urgently required to report to EFCC Lagos office by10am on 17th August, the day of the PDP convention and a day before his scheduled reporting day. He obliged.

“On reporting, he met another officer, whom he was directed to see. She immediately confronted His Excellency with the fact that he has deliberately and consistently refused to honour invitations and could no longer be reached.

“This was shocking, as all his dealings with the Commission should be in the file. This was his fifth visit to the Lagos office and there has been no case of failure to report on appointed date,” the statement said.

Udenwa said the officer’s action appears premeditated, following the sequence of events and the speed with which the press was informed.

“Meanwhile, His Excellency had been put off the PDP convention. However, the whole episode ended late the same evening.

“It is important to state categorically that His Excellency has no reason to fail to report to the commission when required to do so as this case is about the money for the Presidential election as it concerned all the states of the federation and not Imo alone.

“As the PDP Presidential election coordinator in Imo State, His Excellency and some others involved have explained the details of the expenditure in the exercise as far as Imo is concerned. His Excellency, therefore, has nothing to hide,” the statement added.