By Tony Okafor, Awka
The National Coordinator of APGA Media Warriors, Evangelist Chinedu Obigwe, has said the public confession and retraction by the publisher of Igbo Times Magazine and INews, Mr Ejike Ofoegbu Experience, has vindicated Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and his family.
Ofoegbu had publicly admitted that several controversial reports he published about Soludo and his son, Ozonna, were “fake, false, fabricated and untrue.”
Reacting to the development, Obigwe said political opponents who allegedly exploited the reports to attack the governor, his family and the All Progressives Grand Alliance had been put to shame.
“Ever since the reports began trending, the opposition went to town celebrating and leveraging them to make uncomplimentary comments against the party and the first family,” Obigwe said.
He added that despite the party’s challenge to the authenticity of the reports, its opponents continued to circulate them.
“Today, they have all been put to shame, while our party and the Anambra first family have been vindicated,” he said.
The reports had attributed several controversial statements to Soludo and his son, including claims that the governor had disowned his son and that Ozonna had made disparaging allegations against his father.
In his retraction, Ofoegbu admitted that the reports had no factual basis or credible source.
“I publicly admit that the stories I published concerning Governor Soludo and his son were completely fake, false, fabricated and untrue.
“They did not come from Governor Soludo, his son, his family or any official representative. They were not based on any verified facts or credible source, and they should never have been presented as news.”
Ofoegbu also retracted several purported quotations attributed to the governor and his son, taking responsibility for publishing them.
“I state clearly and without reservation that every one of the statements above was fake. They should not be regarded as factual reports or genuine quotations. I take full responsibility for publishing them,” he said.
He further admitted publishing other false and misleading reports involving Soludo and former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi.
Expressing regret over the publications, Ofoegbu said: “I deeply regret the embarrassment, reputational harm and misunderstanding these fabricated stories may have caused to Governor Soludo, his family, his associates and members of the public.”
He apologised to Soludo, his family, the people of Anambra State and readers of his publications, pledging that such an incident would not happen again.
“This statement serves as my full and unconditional retraction of those publications. They were false, fabricated and should be disregarded in their entirety,” he stated.
Obigwe, meanwhile, warned against further publication of false allegations against the governor, his family and APGA, saying such attacks would no longer be taken lightly.
