Governor Chris Ngige - Saint, Conman or Crook (4)

The syndicate which hijacked the governor in New York in major scheme to destabilize Anambra community

New York, March 1, 2005 — Following recent attempts to cause more havoc by the members of the syndicate that derailed the governor’s itinerary in New York and sabotaged our functions, we wish to clarify matters for record purposes:

Planning stage

After Governor Ngige wrote our partner organization (Freedom and Justice International, Inc.) requesting a reception to meet New York business and political leaders in September 2003, and we learnt that the Anambra State Association, New York was also planning a convention and fundraising dinner which the governor was invited, we approached the members of Anambra State Association with a view to collaborate and give him a befitting welcome. The Anambra event planners invited us to attend two of their meetings and we did.

The first meeting held at a church in Brooklyn was very chaotic. Instead of discussing the convention and reception for the governor, the Board of Directors dissolved the executive, and suspended every action of the association until further notice. Hell broke loose at the church hall.

The second meeting, which was of the Planning Committee, was held at a private residence in Brooklyn . We noticed at that meeting that the committee members had various interest for inviting the governor which were openly discussed:

1. One group’s interest was to continue and consummate the land scheme at Awka, which they started with Mbadinuju regime.
   
2. Another group like Mr. Okuya-Oyigbo voiced the general welfare of the association and Anambra State , successful convention, fundraising for the association and accountability as main interest.
   
3. One particular female started by combatively cautioning everybody to make sure they address her with prefix ‘Lady--’ every time before ever mentioning her name, or else, she will henceforth cease addressing them as ‘Sir’ and ‘Chief’ and shocked us by her openly stated interest in hosting the governor. According to her, “everybody has personal agenda in this event; The governor is in serious trouble right now and we don’t even know whether he is going to last; My own is to come close to him to see what contract and business to negotiate him and political appointments for my relatives; I am in hospitality industry, I know how to attend to dignitaries and their needs, that’s my expertise; If any Anambra State government officials visit America I could take care of all their hospitality needs; I am donating a limousine that will pick up the governor immediately he lands at the airport and take him to his hotel and check him into his room; I am in-charge of assigning rooms to the governor’s entourage; I have taken a room at a strategic position at the hotel near the governor’s; I will not allow anyone to come near him without my permission; If anyone try it, I will tell him that they are supporters of Mr. Peter Obi and APGA and that will scare him away from them; I have arranged everything; I will do the MC at the banquet night because I know how to treat the dignitaries to donate money; I am interested in the land at Awka too, I have already paid my own due; That is what I have to say. I like to be direct”.
   
4. Our Executive Director stated our organizational agenda, which was to give the governor such a befitting reception in the elegant Marriott Marquis, which is in the strategic Times Square in Mid-town Manhattan and to positively market Anambra State to the American political and business leaders, per his request. He also mentioned that we had requested and gotten the approval of the New York/New Jersey Ports Authority for the governor to lay a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center and that they agreed to arrange a memorial for the first African Governor to pay such a respect. We explained that this will give the governor very good press coverage which will generate the interest of American political and business leaders in Anambra State which is really what the governor requested in his letter to us.
   
5. The ‘Lady’ interjected, “we do not want anything that will overshadow the Anambra event. This your event is political and may overshadow Anambra State event and we have to see about that. We don’t want to expose the governor to aggressive American media. They may start asking him questions about his election. The governor is not stable now”.
   
6. Our Executive Director replied that we had gotten the okay from the governor’s office on all arrangements we made. The ‘Lady’ queried, “Are you sure? Did you speak with the governor directly?” Did you speak with Jim Asiebo? Our Director replied that we are liaising with a senior staff in the governor’s office assigned on this matter per instruction of the governor. She summed up, “We are not aware that the governor will attend any other event besides ours. We have direct phone numbers of the governor, we have to see about that.”

After the meeting the ‘Lady’ set out sabotaging our events every step of the way. We informed Mr. Uche Udedibia, a Permanent Secretary in the governor’s office assigned to liaise with us of these developments and he told us to disregard those people because governor is a smart man and is aware of some conflicting interests. He stated that the governor had gone through our arrangements for him and approved all of them because he was happy about it. He gave us instruction on protocol to follow when the governor arrives in New York , and we did exactly that.

The rest was history. The governor came to New York and was ‘hijacked’ right from the airport. He did not show up at our planned events for some very bizarre reasons. The very smart Sampson apparently fell for mischievous Delilah.

Polite approach met Executive insults

We were disappointed that Gov. Ngige failed to show up at the function he had requested and we sent three (3) registered polite letters to him expressing our outrage and requesting refund for the expenses he caused us to incur and got no reply. Our Executive Director took risk and went to Awka, Anambra State in December 2003 to seek amicable resolution of this matter even though there was travel advisory that Anambra is unsafe place to travel. We met bureaucratic brick-wall at Awka. Instead of meeting with our Director, the governor and his aides gave press interviews stating that he cancelled his appearance when he received information that we were con men and up to no good and challenged us to go to court if we wish. They claimed that governor is protected by immunity clause to do anything he wishes.

It was clear that he was misinformed but calling us names changed the dynamics of the matter. The reason we choose to be polite was out of respect because our preliminary investigation indicates that the governor was mischievously misled. But attempting to smear us compelled re-evaluation of our approach.

Despite numerous provocations we have exercised restraint. We have been very magnanimous in keeping silent the names of the members of the syndicate that misled the governor while making sure we serve the public awareness interest of the African community in the United States .

Profile of key members of the syndicate

Since the governor who had requested us to organize an event for him turned around to call us such names, we decided to investigate what went so wrong and the individuals behind it. What we found out were stinkingly ugly; ex-convict arrested for hardcore substance and money laundering in the U.S. who may also have been involved in murder in the 1980s. A Nigerian successful and promising real estate-broker was shot to death in his office in New York City. May the soul of Mr. Frank A. (last name momentarily withheld) Rest-In-Peace, Amen. The ex-con may not be the trigger-person because shortly after her arrest, she may still be in detention when the young man was killed but she needs to explain to the NYPD full details of her relationship (Love Elegance Shop) with the man and what may have led to his gruesome murder. Anytime new information develops, the police may re-open the case. There is no status of limitation in complicity in murder case in the U.S. The issue of what the ex-con swallows and inserts into parts of her body when she travels to Nigeria and other places is pretty settled by her arrest and incarceration.

The ex-con may also still be involved in use of multiple names at various times depending on suitability.

Other key member of the syndicate who misled the governor is a plastic surgeon involved in cover up of many human trafficking cases in the U.S.

Governor Ngige will be embarrassed to have called us names knowing the profiles of characters he associates with in the U.S. The old adage says that those who live in glass houses never throw stones.

Diarrhea-mouth: ‘Lady’ is actually tarnishing the Governor’s Image

Our office has been inundated with numerous calls and we want to share only very few. Some callers warned that the ‘Lady’ is very treacherous and extremely dangerous. Some stated that she has a ‘diarrhea-mouth’ the way she talks.

After the governor left New York in November 2003, she has been going about claiming that her stay with the governor and his entourage at the LaGuardia Marriott Hotel was tumultuous; that she did not enjoy any good sleep. According to her, the governor was a haunted-man and he did not sleep all those nights; That this Okija shrine seems to be affected the governor even in the U.S; That the governor’s aides keep calling her every minute of the night to assist calm him down.

We believe that she may have over-rated herself a little bit because Anambra has many qualified nurses and medical personnel here in New York area who could professionally attend to the governor if need-be. The reason this ‘anything goes in’, low-life society woman becomes the closest confidant and ‘mental-health counselor’ of the governor is still puzzling. She also claimed the governor and his team were terrible guests who did not want to pay their hotel bills. According to her, she had to play with them and undergo humiliation to get money out of them.

It is outrageous that this ‘Lady’ is demanding and perhaps collecting money to ‘lobby’ Governor Ngige and other Nigeria government and party officials on government matters.

Mischief & twistfulness: Death of Gov’s aide in New York

When there was rumor that a female aide to the governor had died in a New York , people were naturally concerned. That was not the first time someone visiting from Nigeria will die in the U.S. but by virtue of the fact that the lady was an official of Anambra State government, Anambranians around have the right to know. Wake is normally organized before dead body is flown back to Nigeria . But in this case, matters were shrouded in secrecy and the “Lady’ was dishing out conflicting signals. We were waiting for some kind of clear announcement or communication, which was not forthcoming. The next thing we heard was news report from Nigeria that the deceased body had been flown back amid controversy. A reputable Nigerian newspaper (Vanguard, November 29, 2004 ) carried the news in detail. Based on what we know about the ‘Lady’ that kept the aide in New York ; based on the secrecy with which the matter was handled, we issued a press statement calling for police investigation for the truth to come out.

A call for investigation is neither accusatory nor judgmental; it is a call for appropriate authority with competent jurisdiction and training to look into something. Be informed that it is a civic role to call for investigation.

Remarkably, even though the aide had died and was secretly flown back to Nigeria , the ‘Lady’ continued to misled people that she was well and had returned safely to Nigeria until our press release broke the news in the U.S.

The ‘Lady’ is the one complaining to everyone that the aide was dumped on her without enough money and she was forced to ‘manage and suffer’. It may be a bad judgment to trust the life of anyone to a ‘Lady’ who had earlier bragged that she and her group would not share the governor with anyone- man, woman or group.

The fact the ‘Lady’ goes about attempting to pin the death of this aide on the governor calls for full police investigation. Why is anyone afraid of full police investigation in this matter?

Concern for our safety

We have learnt that the syndicates are twisting the community awareness service of our organization to curry favor with the governor and set our officials up for some harm including possible assassination either in Nigeria or the U.S. We are particularly concerned about this. We have great confidence in the efficacy and long arm of the U.S. justice system more especially since the plot has been revealed.

The ‘Lady’ has been making mischievous and frantic effort to drag various entities such as Anambra Associations and People’s Club of Nigeria into the mess she unwittingly and selfishly created. The reason a fellow who presented himself as ‘Chairman’ of People Club, New York Chapter and a.k.a. – ‘smarter than my teacher’ decided to actually drag the Peoples Club into this mud is not yet clear.

Let us just say this; there is no Mr. Frank A. in our office and our office is not Love Elegance Discount either. We hope the governor get the right briefing this time around so he will exercise better judgment while the ‘Lady’ curry his favors.

As she and her syndicate scheme, we are programmatically watching. Our call for full police investigation is valid. It becomes stronger with every treacherous tactics and schemes.

Our interest in Anambra State

Our organizations are interested in Anambra State for few reasons:

1. Few of our clients – victims of human trafficking came from Anambra State . Some prominent Anambranians in New York supported their captors and gave no support to the victims. Their case studies present very remarkable dynamics, which make Anambra a State of interest.
2. Anambra State made world news when its governor was kidnapped from his office on the eve of U.S. President George Bush’s visit to Nigeria . The official was kidnapped while the world media lens were literally focused on Nigeria . The governor cried for help, and we responded.
3. The governor wrote us requesting meeting with the New York political and business leaders and we obliged.
4. About January 2004, the governor disappeared and went into hiding when police wanted to talk to him. It made world news when the sitting state governor runs away from the law enforcement.
5. Shortly after, the Nigeria Police raided a satanic shrine in Anambra State in 2004 and discovered over 70 openly displayed human dead bodies and uncountable number of human parts at various levels of decomposition. That sounds like things one sees in horror movies but it was real in Anambra. The police also reveal that some of those individuals may have been slaughtered. We are really concerned because based on our visceral knowledge of that part of the world, individuals slaughtered at such satanic shrines may be victims of human trafficking.
6. Anambra is impoverished, neglected and troubled state hence it presents breeding ground for internal and international human traffickers to feast on the hopeless and helpless children therein.
7. The list why we are interested in Anambra State goes on.

Our stance at the moment

There are many educated, reputable seasoned administrators from Anambra State residing in the U.S. If the governor chooses an ex-con to run the business of his government, that is his choice; and if the Anambra people in the U.S. allows it, that’s issue they have to deal with. It is, however, important that Gov. Ngige does not commit the same offense he is accusing President Obasanjo – using criminals to destabilize Anambra in the USA . What we as an organization want is very simple, namely;

1. Settlement of legitimate expenses we incurred based on written request of the Anambra State Governor, will be highly appreciated
2. Letter of apology from the governor for his and his aides disrespect to our organization
3. Call to order his surrogates around the world including the New York area based non-sharing syndicates.
4. Optionally, they could turn their resourceful energy and network into something positive by joining our campaign against abuse of human trafficking victims. They could volunteer and assist to raise community awareness, fundraising events, and donate generously to our cause. They may desist from all forms of ritual killings, human sacrifice and cover-up of human trafficking cases.

Community Acquiescence & Conclusion

The fact is that Anambra community in the New York area is in turmoil. Governor Ngige saw it when he visited but instead of calming things down, he inflamed it.

One of the major problems with our community today is acquiescence and silence of the people. People are fully aware of what is going on but no one wants to call a spade a spade. The ‘Lady’ literally pushed the Anambra Planning Committee aside immediately the governor arrived in New York . Let’s just call this a warning shot because we are privy to numerous underhandedness currently going on.

If the governor is really interested in attracting American investors in Anambra State , the questions are: What does associating with ex-cons and felons say about him? Does he understand that Americans keep records of arrests, prison records, fingerprint records, probation records no matter the fake names used, as well as, his association with them? When a 13 years old girl from Nnobi was raped and impregnated by her captor and a plastic surgeon (governor’s relative from Nnobi) organized malicious and false petitions against individual who disagreed with him, does he know that America now realizes what happened then and keeps records? Does the governor realize that apart from the 13 years old victim from Nnobi, there are two other cases the surgeon covered up, which America has records? America nearly deported this victim due to community concealment of essential facts and they keep records. That very same syndicate is at it again this time around, and America keeps records.

We are calling on the good and conscientious people of Anambra State community, statesmen and dignified women to boldly rise up to civic responsibilities and call the syndicate to order culturally, before they rains more tragedy on the community. Our preference for civility must not be misconstrued.

Live and let live has expression in Igbo language: Onye biri, ibe ya biri; Egbe belu, ugo belu; Odimma Nd’Igbo nine, obele na nnukwu, ka anyi nacho; Emeghi mma, etiwa aku-oyibo Nsugbe; Igbo mma mma nu.

Africans In America, Inc. is a human rights advocacy and anti-trafficking-in-persons organization committed to end abusive treatment of victims of human trafficking from Africa living in the United States .

Human rights, anti-corruption, social, and economic justice, ending exploitation of people, facilitation of economic, educational and social development of the rural (villages) and urban communities in African and in the Diaspora are the core objectives of Freedom and Justice International, Inc.