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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has described the social media reports that he and his personal assistant, Chief Flavour Eze tested positive to coronavirus (COVID-19) as malicious.
It would be recalled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth Leader in Enugu West Senatorial zone, Mr James Nwanjoku had allegedly raised the alarm in several publications in the social media.
Nwanjoku in the alleged publications said that the duo were the COVID-19 patients as reported in Enugu, a claim the state government had since rebuffed.
He also called on the state government to arrest the duo as their plan was to spread the virus in the state.
Nwanjoku was, subsequently, arrested by the IGP Monitoring Team after he failed to retract the publication as demanded by Eze.
Reacting to the situation, the Chairman of the APC in the state, Mr Ben Nwoye blamed the minister for ordering the arrest of the youth leader.
Nwoye described the alleged offense as a civil matter and wondered why such would lead to the continuous detention of the accused.
Also, the elder brother of the culprit, Mr Benjamin Nwanjoku, said that his brother was not the originator of the write-up.
Benjamin said that his younger brother merely copied the article from an online platform and pasted it on a group WhatsApp platform.
However, a statement on Monday by Eze described as criminal and malicious the publication which he said was meant to create unnecessary panic in Enugu State and malign his personality and that of the minister.
The PA to the minister said that it was unfair for the police investigation into such despicable and irresponsible act to be politicised by the state party chairman.
“Instead of the culprit and his co-conspirators to face the issue, they have chosen to rush to the media to accuse the minister of ordering his arrest and detention.
“Nwanjoku, a close associate of Nwoye, alleged that the minister and I are the two persons that tested positive to COVID-19 and had gone to Enugu with the deliberate intention of spreading the disease.
“He further called on the state government to arrest us. The sole intention of the malicious allegations, which he knew to be untrue, was to cause widespread alarm and panic in the state.
“He also intended to endanger the lives of the minister and myself by demonising and inciting hatred against us,” he said.
Eze said that he personally reported the matter to the police after Nwanjoku failed to retract the write up as demanded.
“The police have since swung into action, arrested the culprit and are currently making progress in their investigation. So, they should be allowed to do their job.
“We already know that Nwoye’s stock in trade is to call press conferences to make childish and inflammatory statements. For him, that is what politics is all about,” Eze said.
