Governor Emeka Ehedioha of Imo State has reacted to the accusations that one of the 77 suspected Nigerian fraudsters who feathered in a recent list released by the United States Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI) allegedly sponsored his election in 2019.

On Monday, the Special Assistant to Governor Emeka Ihedioha on New Media, Izuchukwu Akwarandu, said Chika Odionyenma did not sponsor the election of his principal in Imo State.

In a statement in Owerri, the State Capital, Akwarandu said those who were linking Odionyenma’s alleged fraud dealings to the governor were being “mischievous”.

The governor’s aide said as of the time the governor appointed him into the committee that oversaw his inauguration, there was no fraud case hanging on his neck anywhere in the world.

He stated that Odionyenma’s alleged fraud case was a personal issue and that it had nothing to do with the governor or the Imo State Government.

According to him, Governor Ihedioha attended some of the programmes that Odionyenma organised because they were meant to empower the people.

He noted that Ihedioha attended the programmes based on the consideration that Odionyenma is an indigene of the state.

He said, “He (Akwarandu) is an Imo State son and it was in that capacity that the governor attended the programmes that he organised. Moreover, those programmes were meant to empower the people and you know that the governor is a man of the people.

“It is important to note that as of the time the governor appointed him into the inauguration committee, there was no fraud case hanging around his (Odionyenma) neck anywhere in the world”, he said.