According to Vanguard, “Mbaka told the congregation that Okorocha allegedly gave the dud cheque when the Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Dr. Anthony J.V. Obinna, wanted to re-roof Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri, which was leaking at the time.
“A lot of funny things are happening in Imo State now. Workers are sacked with impunity. Governor Okorocha gave the Archbishop a N50 million cheque that bounced and this is supposed to be a Catholic”, Rev. Fr. Mbaka was quoted as saying.
He also recalled that Catholics and all Christians rose with anger when a former governor of the state, Chief Ikedi Ohakim was reported to have flogged a Catholic priest.
He was then quoted as saying: “I recall vividly that not long after I released a song to that effect, I invited the priest at the centre of the alleged beating, Rev. Fr. Eustace Okorie, and sought to know the truth from him. He denied that Ohakim flogged him and since this is the true position, I must also tell the world that Ohakim never dehumanized a priest”, Mbaka said.
Governor Okorocha’s media aide, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, in a reaction to the accusation said the Imo State Government never gave Archbishop Obinna N50 million dud cheque.
“Let us simply aver and solemnly too, that the claim is not only false, but spurious and curious in many respects. There is no iota of truth in the wild allegation. You can call it an unholy blackmail, taking into account the person behind it”, Onwuemeodo said.
According to the Vanguard report, Onwuemeodo challenged Rev. Fr. Mbaka to provide proof since “cheques are not invisible objects”. He added that “since the false claim on the N50m dud cheque didn’t come from the Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese or from any of the priests in the Archdiocese, it becomes reasonable for us to make do with our candid denial”.
He further described Mbaka’s allegation as blackmail and a politically motivated lie being unleashed against Governor Rochas Okorocha’s government ahead of 2015.
“Fr. Mbaka is not a priest in Imo State, talk more being a clergy in the Owerri Archdiocese of the Catholic Church where highly respected and a very decent priest, Archbishop Obinna superintends. You then ask yourself what is the interest of Rev. Fr. Mbaka”, Onwuemeodo said.
The latest feud between Mbaka and Okorocha may give many reasons to wonder what had gone wrong between the duo because in 2011, Mbaka was solidly behind Okorocha, supporting strongly his emergence as governor
Recall that Fr. Mbaka in 2006 had a running battle with the then Governor of Enugu State, chimaroke Nnamani and had accused the governor of sending the gunmen who had attempted to assassinate him.
Gov Okorocha again...
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