- Supporters, Journalists locked out of the declaration venue at ICC, Abuja
Former Governor of Imo State and a serving Senator, Rochas Okorocha, on Monday declared for the office of the President of Nigeria in Abuja, outlining his vision on how he will salvage the country if elected.
But Senator Okorocha got a rude reply to his quest for the Presidency as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) slammed him with 17-count charge of conspiring with others, including an All Progressives Congress (APC) politician and five companies, to steal N2.9 billion public funds.
The former Governor, the first aspirants to openly declare ahead of the 2023 elections, is running on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
At his declaration, Okorocha listed infrastructure, rule of law, among others, as key areas he will focus on if elected.
But the EFCC wasn’t obviously interested in his ambition as it filed the 17-count charge against him on Monday at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In addition to Okorocha, other defendants in the suit are Anyim Nyerere Chinenye, Naphtali International Limited, Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited, Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited.
And even the declaration was a public relations disaster for the former Governor as some invited guests and supporters of Okorocha’s 2023 presidential bid expressed anger as they were locked out of the International Conference Centre (ICC) hall, Abuja, where the declaration took place.
Despite having tags and invitation cards to prove that they were invited for the occasion, they were still stopped by the security men at the gate.
Even journalists and staff of the Rochas Foundation were not spared the humiliation, as they were also denied entry to the programme that lasted less than an hour.
Some of the invited guests and supporters were seen complaining of how they were treated at the occasion.