Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, has, again, apologised for using the word “saboteurs” while addressing his kinsmen recently in Accra, Ghana.
In a viral video, it was alleged he referred to supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the Igbo as saboteurs.
However, in a statement on Friday by his media aide Chibuike Onyeukwu, the former governor said it is not in his character to be rude, adding that his well-intentioned address was misconstrued and blown out of proportion.
Clarifying his choice of word, Ihedioha maintained that the word “saboteur” he used during his speech was not referring to the supporters of the presidential candidate or the Igbo but to his kinsmen who are predominantly members of the PDP, while harping on the need for the party to reclaim power in the coming election.
He said, “I went to Ghana on the invitation of my kinsmen. I am an Mbaise man and we celebrate the “Iri Ji” (New Yam Festival) and for quite some time, they have requested me to come join them and I felt it was important to do that at this time. I was speaking to my kinsmen predominantly members of my party, the PDP. And so, knowing where we are coming from as a people, understanding our circumstances and where the PDP adminisration left Nigeria and that we are the PDP in Nigeria and the promises that were made to Nigerians by the All Progressives Congress, APC, who were surging to take over power. Promises of constant light, free education, free housing, prosperity and stabilization were all mirages, deceitful and fraudulent.
“Those promises have never come to pass and so when you talk about the future of our country, you get worried as people who may for one reason or the other be deceived into believing that you wish it happens. And so, the desire for me, for a PDP administration that has internal mechanism of good governance cannot be over-emphasized. And so I spoke to our people within the PDP consciously, to express the need for them, not to sabotage our efforts in reclaiming power in 2023, so that Nigerians can see good governance”.
Speaking on the reaction that greeted the viral video, he said, “The huge expectation is borne out of abundant love and expectations. That I said any South-Easterner (Igbo Man at that or indeed Nigerians) who does not vote for my party are saboteurs? That cannot be. That is far from the truth. It is obvious that is not me. It is not in my character. I believe in decency. So that cannot be. My position was very simple, I was speaking to our people, I am an Mbaise man. PDP has been faithful to us, they have given us the opportunity to produce a Governor and I said to them, we have an opportunity and I said to them, don’t sabotage our efforts to claim power and that was it. That was the context and if you read or listen through, persons who have made calls to my family members, friends and associates have not had the opportunity to watch the clip. If you do watch it, you will find out that the context is being blown out of proportion.” (TheNiche)
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