Contrary to the rumour making the rounds on online media, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate of Abia State in the 2015 election, Mr Uche Ogah, has refuted claims that he was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions (EFCC) for fraud and forgery allegations.
He said he was not even invited by the agency.
Ogah, who is also the president of Masters Energy, described the news that he was involved in a forgery of signature of one Mrs Bridget Adeosun, as false and malicious.
Though news had it that he was arrested while exiting the premises of a Lagos Court on Monday, Ogah at a press conference held in his office on Monday night said he was never detained by EFCC on this matter. If I was detained by EFCC, I won’t be here addressing you in my office.
On his case with Mrs Bridget Adeosun, Oga explained that he only offered to help the woman in question because of her age and that his transaction with her was in good faith.
He said: “ One of my staff introduced the woman to me and appealed to me on her behalf that she needed my company to help him buy the Import Permits (IP) to buy Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and I entered into an agreement with her based on the fact that she claimed to be a pastor in one of the Pentecostal churches around.
“The woman claimed she needed money to offset her children school fees and I agreed to help her.”
“This was in 2011, it is quite amazing that since 2011, this woman did not show up but only re-surfaced in 2014 to lay claim to what she termed as subsidy claims that were paid by the government. What she was referring to the foreign exchange differentials. She then resorted to blackmail and frivolous petitions”.
Ogah said he has a clean record and he hasn’t cheated anybody in the course of doing business.
“I have been to five police stations on the matter and I was vindicated after listening to my case”.
Ogah denied Adeosun’s claim that he (Ogah) duped her by forging her signature to seal a memorandum of understanding between her firm and his own firm.
He claimed that the woman who is old enough to be his mother, begged for help from him on the business and he obliged.
Ogah, however, called on all his political followers to remain calm, that he was never detained by the EFCC and he believes that justice will prevail.
“The will of God will come to pass on Abia State,” he concluded.
