Onyeama: I Wasn’t Suspended for Refusing to Lead Campaign against Obi to US

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, has debunked the speculations that he was suspended from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for refusing to embark on a campaign of blackmail against the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi.

Onyeama was reported to have been suspended from the APC for allegedly refusing to travel to the United States to launch a “campaign of calumny” against the presidential candidate of the LP, Obi, who is in court to reclaim the presidential ticket he claimed to have won at the February 25 election.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday and signed by its spokesperson, Mrs. Francisca Omayuli, said there was no iota of truth in the allegations.

The statement read: “The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to a story circulating on social media that the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama has been suspended by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) because as alleged, ‘he was sent to the United States to blackmail Peter Obi, and he declined the request.

“The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs states that there is no iota of truth to the mischievous allegations.
“The general public is therefore called upon to disregard the story.”
 The Enugu State Secretary of the party, Robert Ngwu, at a press conference in Enugu last Thursday had announced the suspension of former Governor Sullivan Chime; former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Eugene Odoh; Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu; former Commissioner for Tourism, Ozor Joe Mmamel; Special Assistant to Foreign Affairs Minister, Flavour Eze; and former House of Representatives candidate in 2019, Maduka Arum.

The party had earlier expelled the former chairman of APC in the state, Dr. Ben Nwoye and a former deputy state chairman of the party, Mr. AC Udeh.  
Ngwu at the end of the party’s State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting, presented the party’s Disciplinary and Fact-Finding Committee’s recommendations which he said were ratified by the SEC during her meeting.

While the party accused Nnamani and Chime of openly endorsing and campaigning for the governorship candidate of the PDP, Mr. Peter Mbah, Onyeama was accused of campaigning for the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi.

He was also accused of working for the governorship candidate of PDP, Mbah, using federal government’s palliatives like cooking stove, wrappers, rice and garri.