Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha, put to shame some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state who wanted to use the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to blackmail him, when he personally led other prominent citizens to receive the President at the Imo airport, the State Government has said. Jonathan is presently in the state capital, Owerri, for a PDP Grand Rally to receive defectors from a number of parties, including Okorocha’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC)

“PDP chieftains in the state had tried to cause trouble in the state with the President’s visit, but the state governor kept his cool, and allowed wisdom to prevail, and went to the extent of urging Imo people to come out in their large number to receive Mr. President,” said Okoroch’s senior media aide Sam Onwuemeodo.

He added: “Even the attempt made by the PDP leaders in the state to deceive Mr. President to come to the state through Delta State Airport was rebuffed by Mr. President himself who was said to have insisted to come through Imo Airport since he has no personal problem with Governor Okorocha.

“But they succeeded in deceiving Mr. President by importing PDP members in all the South-East states, just to give the President the impression that they were all from Imo State.

“At the airport, apart from personally receiving Mr President, the governor also received the Vice President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, the President of the Senate David Mark, the National chairman of PDP, Alhaji Muazu.

“With these developments at the airport, some chieftains of the PDP in the state who had made concerted efforts to blackmail the governor out of playing his statutory role of receiving the President as the executive governor of the state failed woefully, to the glory of God.”

Meanwhile, the Imo State Government has taken exception to what it termed the unfortunate utterances of some PDP leaders in the state during the party’s rally attended by President Jonathan.

“The Imo PDP leaders missed the opportunity they would have used to urge Mr President to register the presence of the Federal Government in the state in terms of projects, to abuse their performing governor,” Onwuemeodo said in a statement made available to News Express.

Continuing, he said: “It is totally regrettable and unacceptable to the people of Imo state that the President came for a PDP rally and the leaders of the party in the state could not muster the courage to tell Mr. President one thing, they would like him to do for the state.

“In all their speeches, they all expressed their hunger to come back to power in the state in 2015 without also mentioning what they want the power for.

“They all mentioned the on-going rehabilitation of Aba/Owerri Road and Port Harcourt/Owerri road as if the two roads were built today or being rehabilitated for Imo people alone.

“We don’t have anything against Mr. President but the leaders of the party from the state who could not tell him one project they would want him to do for the state.

“The truth is that Imo people have come of age to know that darkness can never prevail over light, and deceit can never prevail over sincerity.”

•Photo shows (L-R) President Jonathan, Governor Okorocha and Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.