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From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
Senator Andy Uba has dismissed a report that claimed he borrowed N50 million from business mogul, Prince Arthur Eze to prosecute his senatorial election bid in 2015.
In a statement made available to journalists yesterday and personally signed by him, Uba who was a governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s election said he did not borrow the alleged sum of money from Prince Eze.
Dr Uba said that the allegations published in some segments of the media arising from the execution of a judgment of the High Court of Anambra State in suit No: AG/94/2016, through the bailiffs of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja on August 23, 2022, were injurious to him.
He said: “It is fundamentally imperative to unequivocally state in clear and categorical terms the true factual position, thus: A. For the avoidance of doubt, I never borrowed N50,000,000 (fifty million naira only) from Prince Arthur Eze. Both of us only attended a church service at St. Jame’s Anglican Church Uga, Aguata L.G.A, Anambra State during my senatorial campaign in the build-up to 2015 general elections.
“B. In the course of the said church service, Prince Arthur Eze donated N50,000,000 (fifty million naira only) to support my senatorial political campaign on the altar and the entire congregant was engulfed with joy and happiness which made the officiating priest extend a warm handshake of gratitude and appreciation for his kind gesture and I equally sent a letter of appreciation dated 22/2/2015 to Prince Arthur Eze.
“C. I was dumbfounded, surprised and flabbergasted having learnt that my bosom friend and brother, had through his company Oranto Petroleum Limited through which the said cheque of N50,000,000 (fifty million naira only) was drawn had filed an action one year after at the High Court of Anambra State, Aguata Division sitting at Ekwulobia in suit No: AG/94/2016, through what they called (undefended list) procedure or liquidated money demand or summary judgment procedure. The pertinent question on the lips of many people would be, do people go to the rooftops to praise or thank others for granting them loan facilities? How many people have you seen that secured a loan facility from a bank or an individual and went to church praising the creditor for granting them such a loan facility which would only be repaid?”
Chief Uba disclosed that he consequently engaged his lawyers who filed his defence on merit, denying the allegations that the said money was a loan, but a free will donation, alleging that he was not given a fair hearing.
He said that in exercise of his constitutional right, he appealed to the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, which he noted culminated to Senator Andy Andy Vs Oranto Petroleum Limited in Appeal No: CA/E/197/2017, challenging the said decision of the High Court of Anambra State, among other things, on the ground that the said money was a free-will donation and not a loan as well as a challenge that hearing the matter on the undefended list without input amounted to a breach of his fundamental rights to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria (as amended), which, according to him, occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
He explained that as a result of the above position, parties filed and exchanged their respective briefs of argument and the appeal was set down for hearing on February 26, 2019.
“However, there was an intervention by some Anambra stakeholders and I was approached by Prince Austin Ndigwe (Uzu-Awka) who is a mutual friend of myself and Prince Arthur Eze for an amicable settlement of the matter out of court, ” he said.
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