The Senior Special Assistant to the Imo State Governor on Electronic and Creative Media, Ambrose Nwaogwugwu, has clarified that comments circulating online about Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, were his personal views and not those of Governor Hope Uzodimma.
In a statement released on Thursday, Nwaogwugwu explained that he made the remarks as a private citizen commenting on a matter of national interest and that they should not have been attributed to the Imo State governor.
He said the misattribution had created a false impression and urged bloggers and media organisations to correct what he described as an inaccurate representation.
“The comments being credited to the Governor by some bloggers are a clear misrepresentation of the facts.
“It is unfortunate that some bloggers chose to attribute the statement to the Governor when it was, in fact, a personal opinion I expressed in my capacity as a private citizen commenting on a topical national issue,” Nwaogwugwu stated.
He further explained that official statements on behalf of Governor Uzodimma are issued by the Chief Press Secretary, while the Imo State Commissioner for Information serves as the official spokesperson for the state government, except where another official has been specifically authorised.
The clarification followed reports connecting the governor to remarks about Davido’s recent appeal for a free and fair governorship election in Osun State.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Davido had called on an unnamed politician from Imo State to allow Osun residents to freely elect their preferred candidate in the August 15 governorship poll.
The singer, who raised concerns about possible interference in the election, urged political stakeholders to uphold peace and respect the wishes of the electorate.
Responding to the controversy, Nwaogwugwu reiterated that his earlier comments reflected only his personal opinion and did not represent the position of Governor Uzodimma or the Imo State Government.
“It is therefore inappropriate to attribute a harmless personal opinion that I authored in my personal capacity to the Governor, particularly when the statement did not indicate that I was speaking on his behalf,” he added.
He also called on media organisations and bloggers that published the reports to issue corrections so the source and context of the statement would be accurately reflected.