•Governor, commissioners storm out of church
• His action regrettable — Governor’s aide
The funeral service was as solemn as it should.It could not have been otherwise for the late eminent jurist, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.
Gathered at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, at Oguta,his hometown in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State to bid him farewell were eminent citizens from across the land and beyond.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto , Dr. Mathew Hassan Kukah had just delivered his sermon,followed by a tribute to the deceased by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,Chief Pius Anyim,representing President Goodluck Jonathan.
But unexpectedly it all went awry soon after Dr.Kukah invited Governor Rochas Okorocha to the podium to read his condolence message.
The governor had just taken the microphone to speak when the eldest son of the deceased , Mr. Charles Oputa aka Charly Boy sprang to his feet ,dashed to the podium and snatched the microphone from him.
The guests were dazed as was the governor.
Charly Boy raged,vowing to stop any politician from scoring ‘cheap political points’ with his father’s death.
Not even Bishop Kukah could calm him.
An embarrassed Okorocha made for the door,followed by aides,government officials and other guests,many of them expressing disgust at Charly Boy’s hostility,24 hours after walking out of a tributes session organised in Owerri by the State government for his late father.
His reason was the same as yesterday’s.
Many guests dashed to their cars and left the church immediately for fear that the situation might degenerate into a breakdown of law and order.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr.Sam Onwuemeodo, condemned Charles Oputa for ‘embarrassing’ the Governor Rochas Okorocha.
He alleged that the action was politically motivated.
Mr. Onwuemeodo, in a statement said it was regrettable that Charly Boy “threw caution to the wind and turned the church service into a political theatre that saw him acting or playing out the script he drafted in Abuja with some Imo politicians who have remained cowed by the overwhelming popularity of Governor Rochas Okorocha.”
He added:“The Imo State governor had worked together with Charly Boy both when the late Justice was sick, until the time he died and the preparation for the burial which also encouraged the state governor to make substantial financial input and also organized a special day of tribute for the late Justice at the expense of state government with Charly Boy also present with other members of the family.
“This is why the sudden change of character of Charly Boy at the church service, in which case, he insisted that the governor would not talk as protocol demanded could not be understood, except that he was acting out the script handed over to him by some of the gubernatorial aspirants from the state who might have been rattled by the thunderous ovation that greeted the governor by the crowd when he was first introduced.
“At a function like that protocol had demanded that the host governor must talk before any other speaker. But Senator Pius Anyim representing President was first called to talk. Ideally, as representative of the president, there was no way Senator Anyim would not have talked at the event. But protocol would have seen the governor talking first to welcome the invitees to the service as the host governor.
“Perhaps afraid of the popularity of Governor Okorocha among the Imo populace …, the few politicians from the state in Abuja who are desperate to capture power in the state in 2015, saw a willing tool in Charly Boy for them to ensure that the governor would not talk at the event.
“We condemn that ugly incident. And also wish to advise politicians from the state to stop heating up the polity since God is the giver of power. In 2015, God will decide who will govern Imo State and when God decides that, there is nothing anybody can do about it”.
Earlier in his sermon, Kukah had lauded the virtues of the late Justice Oputa which he said made him “ tolerate a son like Charley Boy.”
These virtues,he said ,were “a measure of the greatness of the man.”
He asked Nigerians to stand up in defence of justice and equity.
“Oputa, before he died, was worried about the quality of Nigerian lawyers and judges because he believed in the Judiciary as the hope of the nation. Today his legacies are beyond his immediate family,” he said.
Dignitaries at the funeral service included Chief Anyim,Labour Minister Emeka Wogu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, former Anambra and Imo State Governors, Peter Obi and Ikedi Ohakim.
Others were Governors Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Willie Obiano (Anambra) Theodore Orji (Abia) Senator Chris Ngige, among others.
