A former governor of Delta State serving terms for corruption charges,James Onanefe Ibori, has said that Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who died on Saturday was never corrupt but built just one house.
It was in September 2005 that the UK’s metropolitan police detained Alamieyeseigha with £1 million cash on him, and another £1.8 million in cash and accounts. He escaped and came down to Nigeria.
Ibori said “Alamieyeseigha became the victim of great hypocrisy masquerading as nationalism and anti-corruption fight,” Ibori said in a statement signed on his behalf by Tony Eluemunor, his spokesman.
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“Alamieyeseigha was lied against, as heaps upon heaps of untruths were piled on him, and national hysteria replaced public discourse whenever the subject was Alamieyeseigha. He was plotted against by those who swore they were fighting on the side of good even though they had taken high seats in the devil’s court.
“How many people would believe that Alamieyeseigha had only one house? And that is in his village, Amassoma! One day, no matter how long the delay, Alamieyeseigha’s real story would be told, the truth about him would be unearthed and the world would know the kind of virulent politics he was victim of.”
Ibori added “We were not just colleagues in the governors forum from 1999, in the man I found a boundless and dependable warrior in the battle for the cause of the Niger Delta. He was fearless, forthright, outspoken and dedicated his life to the causes he believed would benefit his people,” Ibori said.
“In fact, he was consumed by the cause of the Ijaw people, the degradation of their environment and collective psyche. He was in a hurry to see that the injustice under which they laboured be redressed; and he was ready to bear any pain, pay any price, to see that their day of liberation arrived fast.”
“Rest in peace great Ijaw leader. Rest in peace, the Governor General of the Ijaw nation. May God grant your family and the Ijaw people the grace to bear this monumental loss.”
