A press statement by his media aide, Mr. Peter Kalu, said “that the former governor wouldn’t have responded to the report, but for the numerous enquiries from the media and other members of the public. More so, this development was very grave and portrayed His Excellency as unreliable, which may have other sinister motive.” The statement reads in part, “Our attention has been drawn to the report in several media, both electronic and print alleging that former Imo State governor, His Excellency Chief Achike Udenwa was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC) on the grounds that he failed to keep to his bail condition by failing to report to the Commission when required to do so. “We may not have responded to this but By a letter dated May 13, 2016, His Excellency applied and obtained permission to travel abroad for medical treatment. Consequent upon this, the Commission released his International Passport that was in the custody of the Commission. The Commission scheduled his next visit for August 13, 2016. This date was agreed by both parties, not realising that it was on a Saturday, a non working day by the Commission. “On return, he contacted the officer in charge and agreed on a new date, which was Thursday “Surprisingly, on Tuesday 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 by 10am on Wednesday, August 17, 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. The officer, a woman immediately confronted Chief Udenwa, and accused him that he deliberately and consistently refused to honour invitations and could no longer be reached. “This was shocking, as all my 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. ”This 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 State alone. “As the PDP Presidential election coordinator in Imo State, Chief Udenwa and some others involved have explained the details of the expenditure in the exercise as far as Imo State was concerned. His Excellency therefore has nothing to hide”.]]>