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Ima Niboro Dismisses Report Of Crack In Delta APC Campaign Council Over Fund
Ima Niboro, director, communications and media strategy of the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Campaign Council, has refuted media reports that there is a crack in the governorship campaign council over funds reportedly released by the Deputy Senate President and the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
BIGPEN NIGERIA (www.bigpenngr.com) had reported based on report in Sahara Reporters that crisis is brewing in the party’s governorship campaign council over appropriation of some funds released to persecute the governorship election.
According to report in SaharaReporters, the development have created two factions in the campaign council after funds meant for media are wrongly handled.
The report says a faction controlled by the Director-General of the campaign council and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsdey Orubebe, and the director, strategy and elections, Godwin Anaughe, had allegedly schemed out the faction controlled by Ima Niboro, director, communications and media strategy of the council.
Ima Niboro was a former spokesman to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to the report, trouble started after the sum of N1.8 million was released at the commencement of the rallies by the campaign council for the handling of some media activities.
The report says the fund was supposed to be handled by Ima Niboro, but was allegedly given to some set of persons.
The development was said to have triggered the crisis after Niboro confronted the campaign council’s DG of which some group of youths loyal to the campaign council’s Director General allegedly attacked Niboro at one of the campaign rallies few week ago, Sahara Reporters reported.
The situation had forced Niboro to arrange for some private security guards to protect him during rallies, the report said.
One of the deputy directors in the campaign council who pleaded for anonymity, told Sahara Reporters that; “The director general of the campaign council, Godsdey Orubebe and the director, strategy and elections, Godwin Anaughe, are usurping the office of the director, communications and media strategy of the council, Ima Niboro.
“Just recently, though some weeks back when we commenced our rallies, the sum of N1.8 million was released for some media activities and rather than handing over the money to Ima Niboro, Orubebe and Anaughe connived and bypassed him and handed the money over to some other persons.
“The truth is that Ima Niboro is not being carried along by Orubebe and Anaughe; they usurp his office just to humiliate and make him ineffective. For crying out loud, Ima Niboro, is a known veteran Journalist and former spokesman to former President Goodluck Jonathan, he does not deserve the kind of gang-up and treatment been melted on him by the DG and the director on strategy and elections.
“He’s been starved of funds voted for the media and due respect is not being accorded him. The truth is, Ima Niboro, just wants to remain calm, he doesn’t want to have any issue with anyone but to see to his principal’s victory at the end of the day. There’s crisis in the council and it’s a fact that can’t be denied.”
Orubebe didn’t respond to calls and messages as at the time of filing this report, Sahara Reporters said.
Niboro, on his part, denied having any issue with Orubebe or anyone in the council because of funds.
According to Niboro, “I have no issue with Orubebe, we have gone a long way, we are very close and no any individual or group of persons can come in between us. On the private security guards, yes, I was almost attacked by some group suspected to be Peoples Democratic Party infiltrated our rally when we went for campaigns at Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s local government council, Ika North-East and after that incident, I had to arrange for security guards though I have police security assigned to me but I decided to bring in the private security guards to join hands with the police just to beef up my security.”
But in a statement released on Thursday, Niboro dismissed the report saying; “I read with considerable amusement, your story on a purported crack in the Delta All Progressives Congress, APC, over some “N1.8 million “ meant for media relations.
“Your report claimed that this was at the heart of a so called rift between Campaign Director-General, Elder Godsday Orubebe, and the undersigned. This is not true.
“When your reporter contacted me, I went to great lengths to explain why there cannot be a rift between Orubebe and I, given our long standing history of friendship and excellent working relations. I indeed pointed out to him that if there are any two persons with the best working relationship in the council, it is Orubebe and I.
“I recall urging him to drop the story since there was no substance to it. I indeed considered it a personal insult to be linked to a non existent “fight” between a former Minister and a former Presidential Adviser over such a silly sum and I told him that much.
“Similarly, it is inconceivable that I could be said to be heading “a faction “ of the campaign council, without naming the other members of the so called faction. This doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
“I consider that this story was written in utmost bad faith, and falls far short of the standards your medium is reputed for. It has all the classic elements of beer parlour gossip and market place innuendo. It has no place on the well regarded pages of Sahara Reporters, and should be withdrawn forthwith”.