Franklin Uzo lgbonwa, Chairman of Anambra State Selection Committee of the Nigerian Government Extended Special Public Works Programme, has denied being an ex-convict.
Igbonwa in a letter dated September 17, 2020 to SaharaReporters said the allegations against him was false.
Igbonwa claimed that the allegation was from ‘village people’ not happy with his success.
He said, “This is village politics, nothing more.
“There is no iota of truth in the claim.
I’m not an ex-convict. I’m not known to be a front or surrogate being used by anybody or Senator Ngige to siphon any fund, let alone public funds and/or corner ‘juicy’ contracts in the Ministry of Labour and Employment as well as other parastatals and ministries. I’m neither under any indictment nor declared wanted anywhere in the world to best of my knowledge and belief.
“My wife and I are 100 per cent owners of Olde English Hotels and Suites which I completed in October 2006. I’m not a front for Senator Ngige or anybody living or dead.”
It was earlier reported how Igbonwa was indicted by a United States federal grand jury and convicted in 1990 for drug violations.
He was sentenced to nine years in prison on two count charges, the sentences to run concurrently, and 10 years of supervised release, court documents seen by the newspaper read.
Igbonwa was also accused in 1989 by the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service of sham marriage, thereby denying him permanent resident status.
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service adjusted Igbonwa’s status to that of conditional permanent resident in 1987 following his marriage to a United States citizen.
In 1989, Igbonwa petitioned to remove the conditional element of his immigration status.
INS denied his petition on November 29, 1989, when the agency determined that his marriage was a sham entered into solely for the purpose of securing permanent resident status.
INS began proceedings to terminate his conditional permanent resident status in 1990, but these proceedings were administratively halted on March 8, 1990 due to Igbonwa’s incarceration on narcotics offenses.
He has, however, denied the allegations, blaming his detractors for trying to pull him down.
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