Minister of State for Foreign Af­fairs, Prof. Vio­la Onwuliri, has debunked media reports that she had an interaction with stakeholders of Imo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between July 26 and July 27 over Federal Gov­ernment projects in the state.
Daily Sun had reported that the minister was in the state and held a meeting with Imo PDP stakeholders, where she allegedly warned ‘Imo politicians against claiming Federal Govern­ment projects’ in the state.
But in a statement, signed by her Special Assistant, Mike Iheanetu, the minister stated that she only had inter­action with Imo PDP stake­holders on June 30 at the par­ty secretariat, saying she was in far away United States on official engagement between July 26 and July 27.
The letter stated: “For the purposes of simple clar­ity and better understanding, the minister never visited the Imo State PDP office or the state executive during the weekend of July 26 and 27, 2014 as purported by the author in his publication of July 28, this year. During the said weekend of July 26 and 27, the minister was in the United States on official en­gagement. It must have been embarrassing to Mr. Presi­dent that his minister was not attending to her assigned du­ties in the US at that time.
“Certainly, the minis­ter had an interaction with Imo PDP stakeholders at the party secretariat on June 30, 2014, one month earlier. Fundamentally, the leaders bemoaned the spate of un­warranted abuses and attacks on the Presidency and claims by the APC state government that President Goodluck Jon­athan and PDP have not done any project in Imo State.
“Emphatically, the min­ister debunked this and en­couraged the leaders to go to their various wards, identify and articulate Federal Gov­ernment projects in Imo State for information and educa­tion of the citizens.
“It must be hackneyed here for emphasis that, at no time in the course of interac­tion, did the minister deride the respected Federal As­sembly members from Imo State, nay Owerri Zone, as portrayed in the publication. The minister instead, encour­aged the party members and particularly, the aspirants to stop castigating themselves on the pages of newspapers to avoid unsavoury conse­quences.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the PDP National Assembly members from Imo State, particularly, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, are work­ing closely with Mr. Presi­dent and have made Imo people proud by the number and quality of projects they have attracted and executed in Imo State under Mr. Presi­dent’s Transformation Agen­da. It will be ridiculous and foolhardy to allow seeming­ly compromised journalists to fan the embers of discord and disaffection between the federal lawmakers, the min­ister or our dear president.”
While describing his boss as media friendly, the min­ister’s aide, stated that the records needed to be put straight to correct the errone­ous impressions created in the minds of the public.
On the Federal Govern­ment projects in the state, the minister’s aide cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in Imo State “to desist from claim­ing to have done the projects conceived, planned, funded and executed by the Federal Government for the good people of Imo State.”
EDITOR’S NOTE:  We hold the Minister of State for Foreign Af­fairs, Prof. Viola On­wuliri, in high esteem, and had no intention whatsoever to malign or misrepresent her.

FG projects in Imo: My story, by Onwuliri