Akunyili Lobbied Yar’Adua For Anambra PDP Guber Ticket – Soludo

PHOTO: CONTROVERSIAL MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS, PROFESSOR DORA AKUNYILI.

San Francisco, July 26, (THEWILL) – Former central bank governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Anambra State during the last governorship election in the state, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has alleged that Professor Dora Akunyili’s failure to persuade late President Umaru Yar’Adua through Turai Yar’Adua to ‘anoint’ her as the consensus candidate of the PDP in the February election, is the reason why Dora is fighting him.

Soludo also attributed Turai’s refusal to influence her late husband to ‘anoint’ her as the reason why Dora and Turai fell apart.

In a statement signed by Soludo’s spokesman, Bonaventure Melah, the former CBN Governor said Akunyili was the unknown "48th aspirant" in a PDP primary that was keenly contested by 47 aspirants adding that she didn’t have the guts to resign from her ministerial position to contest in the election.

"She rather devoted all her energies to lobbying Yar’Adua to appoint her as ‘the consensus candidate’ and there are several witnesses and evidence to this fact.

"Since she lost the nomination to Soludo, she has never spared any opportunity to vent her bitterness. Most politicians know that Dora has negative electoral value in Anambra and cannot ‘make’ a Councillor let alone a legislator.

"Indeed, Dora knows that any candidate who publicly associates with her will lose election in Anambra. To ascribe to herself any influence whatsoever in the making of a Governor smacks of a huge dose of delusion!"

Soludo said he was reacting to statements credited to Dora that he sent thugs after her and her guests during the funeral of her late sister who was also Soludo’s mother-in-law.

"It should be noted that Dora Akunyili’s allegations were made at a ‘press conference’ called several days after the burial/funeral ceremonies.

"Is it not curious that she who attended the burial/funeral with blaring sirens and a horde of heavily armed policemen and SSS (State Security Service) personnel would be attacked by ‘thugs’ who also chased her to her village, and to date, there has been no formal report of the incidents or threats in any police station, and there was no arrest of any of the ‘thugs’.

"We only read about ‘thugs’ on the pages of newspapers. Or, was Dora Akunyili referring to the over 8,000 guests and politicians from all the 21 local government areas in Anambra who came to condole with Soludo as the PDP flag bearer in Anambra as thugs?"

"Were the thugs chasing her before or after the praises and announcement at the church service? From the church, she joined the thousands of people to walk all the way to the sister’s compound and personally observed the burial.

"After that, she again personally caused a public announcement to be made to the effect that her guests should follow her to Nanka (as the custom demands).

"There is a video tape of her activities, with her acknowledging greetings after the burial until she entered her car. When did the thugs came in and only Dora Akunyili (out of the thousands that attended) saw them? You can fool some people some of the time but never all the people all the time!" Soludo said.

Continuing, the statement said, "Furthermore, to imagine that Soludo who was deeply mourning the death of his beloved mother- in-law (whom he described as his own mother) would organize thugs to disrupt the funeral which he personally organized says volumes about how far Dora’s fertile mind could go in concocting imaginary threats.

"Anyway, Nigerians are used to the crocodile tears and faked threats all in attempts to woo public sympathy. Dora is taking her propagandist skills rather too far!

"Dora did not talk about her desperate attempts to disrupt the burial/funeral by attempting to organize a parallel funeral site beside her sister’s compound (which is an abomination).

"She did not talk about the fact that the traditional ruler, the community and her own kindred resisted her abominable act, reported in Tribune and Daily Independent on July 17."

"She decided to concoct the stories and go on the offensive after the newspaper reports clearly indicted her. She had to find a fall guy, and of course her phobia for Soludo provided the convenient alibi.

"Akunyili should find another excuse to explain her abominable acts during her sister’s burial/funeral. She has misfired in this one!" Soludo advised.