The Cross River State Government has dismissed as “pure fiction” and “hallucinatory tale” reports circulating on a local blog that Governor Bassey Otu plans to distribute vehicles to newly elected All Progressives Congress (APC) Chapter Chairmen across the state’s 18 local government areas.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Friday, Linus Obogo, Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Bassey Otu, described the allegation as “tendentious,” “a sensation,” “a fanciful contrivance” and “an imaginative fabrication wholly detached from reality.”
“The attention of government has been drawn to a tendentious publication circulating on a Calabar-based blog, Calabargist, alleging that His Excellency, Governor Bassey Otu is poised to distribute vehicles to the newly elected Chapter Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress across the 18 local government areas of Cross River State,” the statement read.
“This narrative, dressed up as reportage, is in truth nothing more than a sensation, a fanciful contrivance, an imaginative fabrication wholly detached from reality.”
Obogo stressed that the governor is “neither contemplating nor considering any vehicle empowerment initiative for the new APC Chapter Chairmen.”
“The claim is entirely spurious and belongs squarely in the realm of conjectural fiction. It should therefore be treated by the discerning public as a hallucinatory tale, lacking both factual foundation and official sanction,” he added.
The statement went further, urging the public to ignore the story completely.
“What is authentic, however, is the Governor’s soon-to-roll out far-reaching employment initiative that will open opportunities to Cross Riverians from all walks of life. In keeping with his inclusive philosophy of governance, the programme is being conceived without partisan filters, reflecting his conviction that leadership must serve the entire citizenry.”
Obogo concluded by reaffirming Governor Otu’s commitment to inclusive governance.
“Governor Otu remains steadfast in his pledge to govern for all Cross Riverians, transcending political lines and sectional interests. Consequently, the insinuation that he intends to embark on a vehicle empowerment scheme for APC Chapter Chairmen is entirely false and should be dismissed with the unseriousness it deserves, as pure fiction.”
 Chapter Chairmen across the state’s 18 local government areas.){kind=link}