In a statement released and signed by Richard
Ihediwa,Special Assistant to The National Publicity Secretary, said
"the attention of the office of the National Publicity Secretary of
the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh has been drawn to desperations to use a
section of the media to spur public sentiments against the PDP spokesman,
who has been in the EFCC custody since last Tuesday".
Chief Metuh believes that the continued false reports
in the media, the latest being the publication claiming that he told
investigators that he would “rather starve than refund any money”, is part
of the blackmail and scheme to pitch him against the public.
He said, the grand design to sway the public and
derail the course of proper investigation started with misleading and
malicious reports that Chief Metuh made away with N1.4 billion arms deal
cash and had been receiving a monthly N4 million stipend from the Office
of the National Security Adviser.
When this deliberate falsehood could not
be sustained, it was adjusted to him receiving N400 million from ONSA.
Richard said that, the office wishes to state
categorically that Chief Metuh has fully cooperated with investigators
within his constitutionally guaranteed rights. In exercise of his rights,
he has since given his statement to the EFCC wherein he submitted that he
received the sum of N400 million from the former President for an
assignment, which he executed to the satisfaction of the former President.
He said in further exercise of his rights, Chief Metuh
has also indicated his readiness to make public the nature of this
assignment, but only in an open court in line with the laws of the land,
and where his statement would not be distorted by anybody.
“Chief Metuh therefore believes that his continued
incarceration and failure to charge him to court are deliberately intended
to prevent him from telling his own story in the open court for all
Nigerians to know.”
The Party wish to state that contrary to the
impression that the issue of N400 million was a product of investigation,
it was actually a product of Chief Metuh’s voluntary statement.
Chief Metuh had since informed that sometime in
December 2015, the ONSA published an invitation to companies they believed
executed contracts for it for a chat.
Upon ONSA invitation via a text message, Chief Metuh,
regardless of the fact that he did not execute any contract for the
Office, appeared before the ONSA panel, wherein he presented his company’s
statement ofaccount showing that the sum of N400 million paid on the
instruction of the ex-President for an assignment was traceable to the
ONSA account.
Recall that Chief Metuh, even before visiting ONSA had
at a media briefing acknowledged the receipt of N400 million from the
ex-President for the exercise of the said assignment.
Following the developments, Chief Metuh, as a
responsible citizen canceled his intended travels for the Yuletide and
issued a statement wherein he noted his readiness for any invitation and
investigation by the EFCC or any other agency of government for that
matter.
“We are therefore worried at the continued media
persecution where a citizen is being charged, sentenced and jailed in the
court of the media instead of being charged to the law court as required
by the law.”
The party urges
Nigerians not to lose sight of the sequence and inconsistencies in the
investigation and publications regarding Chief Metuh’s case. The Party believe that in this case, the law
must not be.
