The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party, Uche Secondus, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, and Ex-Governor Emmanuel
Uduaghan and other national and state PDP leaders on Saturday eulogised “the
sterling leadership qualities of former Governor James Ibori, describing him as
a unifying figure and a blessing to the Niger Delta region.”
A statement by the press unit of the Delta
State Government House said the officials spoke at Ovwor-Olomu in Ughelli South
Local Government Area of Delta State during a grand reception in honour of Mr.
Ibori.
According to the statement, the party leaders
described the former governor, who returned to Nigeria on February 5, 2017
after serving jail term in the UK, as a unifying factor in the development of
the Niger Delta region and Delta State in particular.
Mr. Ibori had on February 27, 2012, pleaded
guilty in a London court to 10 counts of money laundering and conspiracy to
defraud. Before Judge Anthony Pitts, Mr. Ibori admitted stealing $250million as
alleged by the prosecution.
The Metropolitan Police accused Mr. Ibori of
spending some of the stolen money buying six houses in London – paying £2.2m in
cash for one Hampstead mansion – and putting his children in expensive British
private schools.
After he pleaded guilty, Crown Prosecution
Service lawyer, Sasha Wass, made a short submission, saying the prosecution was
discontinuing Mr. Ibori’s trial because the former governor had “accepted the
entirety of the prosecution’s case as it has always been set out.”
Mr. Ibori was later sentenced to 13 years in UK
prison. He was however released and deported to Nigeria in February 2017.
But despite being aware of the former
governor’s antecedent, the PDP National Chairman, Mr. Secondus, and his
colleagues, lavishly eulogised Mr. Ibori at the occasion, saying the PDP needed
his leadership acumen to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC).
“Ibori must be celebrated because he is a man
of the people not just in Delta state but across the nation, today, he is a
factor in this country. On behalf of the masses of our country, we salute you,
we salute your courage because you are a man who believes in the struggle of
the party,” he added.
This can only happen in Nigeria. Rip PDP
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