Ayiri Emami, Delta-based businessman and ally of James Ibori, former governor of the state, on Friday said the ex-number one citizen of Delta, who is currently serving a jail term in the United Kingdom, will return to the country latest by July.
Addressing members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Warri Correspondent Chapel, Emami, who defected to the ruling party shortly before the 2015 general election, said it was Ibori who advised him to leave the PDP.
He alleged that Emmanuel Uduaghan, Ibori’s successor, would have also liked to quit PDP but for “fear of the unkown”.
“There have been speculations as to when Ibori would return, but I can confidently tell that by June or at most July, he would return home to Nigeria,” he said.
Advertisement
“We all need him, especially in Delta, to sanitize things again. If he were here, a lot of things would not have happened.
“Ibori was one of those who predicted that Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party would not win the 2015 Presidential election. It is fear of the unknown that made his brother, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to remain in PDP. I listened to Ibori, and had to leave.”
Ibori was convicted in April 2012 by a Southwark Crown Court for money laundering and conspiracy, and handed a 13-year jail sentence.
Advertisement
He had earlier been arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under Interpol arrest warrants issued from United Kingdom courts and enacted by the Metropolitan Police.
His travails started after his kinsmen, under the auspices of Delta State Elders and Stateholders Forum, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing Ibori of misappropriating resources of the state.
1 comments
Ayiri should stop telling lies to Nigerians. Ibori did not tell him to join APC. He joined APC to protect his business. He joined APC when Jonathan lost the Presidential election. He had become close to Jonathan and Deziani who gave him license to import petrol and kerosine. Today he is singing Buharis praise to protect his oil business. Moreover, Ibori was the one who backed Okowa to be Governor. So if there is any problem in Delta politics, like Ayiri is saying, then Ibori caused it. Finally, Ayiri is not in a position to know when Ibori is coming back. The case is too complex for an un-educated Ayiri to know.