I don’t negotiate with blackmailers
Delta business mongul and a top aspirant for 2023 governorship race for state, Chief Kenneth Gbagi has debunked allegations that he was involved in stripping naked, four staff of Signatious Hotel and Suites Limited located at Effurun, Delta state.
Speaking with journalists at his Oginibo country home on Saturday, Chief Gbagi alleged: ” As I speak, my legal team is in the middle of compiling facts which would vindicate me. In their possession are recordings which show that the lawyers used by Mrakpor, who pose as activists are presently fighting themselves over monies offered them to smear my name. They are presently divided as the content of the recordings have revealed that the whole story about stripping the persons in the photographs was hatched to taint my image.”
He described the allegation of stripping Mr Victor Ephraim, Gloria Oguzie, Mrs Precious Achibong and Roselyn Okiemute Diaghwarh, naked over an alleged theft as a mere distraction ahead of his 2023 governorship ambition.
Below is full text of address by Chief Kenneth Gbagi:
“ADDRESS DELIVERED BY OLOROGUN KENNETH GBAGI AT A PRESS BRIEFING ON ALLEGED MOLESTATION OF SIGNATIOUS HOTEL STAFF
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the fourth estate of the realm, you’re welcome to this press briefing which was called at the instance of outrightly false allegations made against my person over the last one week.
Ordinarily, I would have ignored the mischief makers behind said allegations, but seeing how damaging that could be on my integrity and reputation which were built through a dint of hard work over the years, I decided to correct certain impressions held by the public owing to false allegations peddled by those who for one reason or the other feel threatened by my ambition to contest the governorship election in Delta State come 2023.
On the allegation of molestation of staff employed with Signatious Hotel, one of the business interests I own, let me categorically state that at no time did I or any person related to me strip naked the persons mentioned in the malicious allegation. As a father of six daughters who has tremendous respect for women and their rights and equality, I consider those behind such accusation and blackmail the most evil minds that must be identified and brought to face the full wrath of the law.
Permit me to clarify that I do not get involved in the day-to-day running of my business empire, since this is a responsibility left for my management team to handle.
As such, to the best of my knowledge and based on available information at my disposal as provided by the management of the hotel, the persons mentioned in the molestation allegation are not staff employed with any of my businesses nationwide. Any attempt to state otherwise must be backed by proof of employment, which I dare those concerned to provide.
Those persons were freelance job-seekers who were never stripped naked by anybody. I request experts to forensically search for any bodily contact on the persons paraded in the photographs, including myself who was alleged to have touched them.
The photographs; when viewed properly, showed persons who were not in the least remorseful, but whose facial expression revealed that they had willfully stripped themselves naked for political photographs and gimmickry in a bid to smear my name and character as well as extort money from me. A copy requesting for N1 billion is hereby attached and marked annexure 1, written and issued by one Mr. Kunle Edu, who; two years ago by his own sponsors for the same political fame, parked his car on my property and sued me to the Effurun High Court.
At that time, Kunle Edu made himself known to me and asked that I give him N50 million for settlement. I ignored him, just as I’ve done in this instance, sparking a chain reaction of calls with over forty persons to negotiate a reduction of this ransom of N1 billion to N100million.
As I speak, my legal team is in the middle of compiling facts which would vindicate me. In their possession, are recordings which show that the lawyers used by Mrakpor, who pose as Activists are presently fighting themselves over monies offered them to smear my name. They are presently divided as the content of the recordings have revealed that the whole story about stripping the persons in the photographs was hatched to taint my image.
Gentlemen of the press, I challenge you, once again to produce any photograph of anybody including myself stripping any person or having any form of bodily contact with them.”