AWKA  – The leader of Anambra State caucus in the 10th House of Rep­resentatives, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, has refuted social media generated falsehood that the rep­resentatives who visited Gover­nor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, last Friday, endorsed him for a second tenure.

In a statement he personally signed, Ogene pleaded with “med­dlesome interlopers” not to spoil a relationship the members want to es­tablish for the good of Anambra State.

Part of the statement reads: “As we begin this new chapter of devel­opment-centric collaboration be­tween the executive and legislative arms, we urge meddlesome inter­lopers not to truncate this laudable gesture, in the guise of projecting narrow partisan considerations”, just as he described the story as “wild rumours, circulating across several WhatsApp platforms, to the effect that the Anambra State caucus, 10th House of Represen­tatives, has endorsed Governor Chukwuma Soludo for a second tenure in office”.

Continuing, he added: “As the caucus, made up of nine, out of its 11 members, paid Governor Soludo a courtesy visit on Friday, June 28, 2024, at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, our delibera­tions centred, primarily, on forg­ing a development synergy for the overall interest of our state.

“Indeed, at no time during the almost five-hour chit-chat – during which both sides dissect­ed the multifarious development and security challenges that con­front our people – everyone was allowed to freely make contribu­tions, in a free, no-holds barred manner.

“As a matter of fact, Governor Soludo himself aptly captured the essence of our visit, when he wrote on his X handle thus: “Yesterday, I had the honour of welcoming the Anambra State caucus of the Federal House of Representatives to the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia. It was a piv­otal step towards fortifying our collaboration in infrastructural partnership and development”.

Ogene further quoted Soludo as adding that “the discussions were marked by a shared com­mitment to transcend party affil­iations and work together harmo­niously to champion initiatives at the national level that will signifi­cantly benefit Ndi Anambra.”

Ogene noted that at no time did personal, or party aspirations, feature in their exchanges during the visit, so “we, therefore, had no cause to endorse anyone”.

He concluded by saying: “As we begin this new chapter of de­velopment-centric collaboration between the executive and legis­lative arms, we urge meddlesome interlopers not to truncate this laudable gesture, in the guise of projecting narrow partisan con­siderations”.