Tuesday denied subjecting his wife, Clara, to
house arrest.
Chime, who also vowed to protect his wife's
integrity, addressed journalists on the issue in
the presence of Clara and her elder brother,
Mr. Tony Igwe.
Also present at the meeting are governor's
siblings, Mrs. May Oji and Dr. Jide Chime, as
well as Clara's neuro-psychiatric doctor, Dr.
Aham Agumuo, among others.
At the interview session, the governor's wife
denied sending any petition to the National
Human Rights Commission alleging unlawful
detention by her husband.
She also denied hiring the services of Mr.
Femi Falana (SAN) to seek her freedom from
an alleged house arrest at the Governor's
Lodge, Enugu.
Although, Falana had claimed in his letter to
some media houses and the Inspector-General
of Police that he was engaged by Clara to seek
her freedom from the alleged house arrest.
The governor, however, said that it was "so
disturbing" for him to speak out publicly
about his wife's health challenges.
He, however, vowed to do everything, no
matter the personal pains, to protect his wife
from ridicule.
He said, "Well, my wife has some medical
challenges and it would be very unkind for
me to talk about her condition on the pages
of newspapers.
"I have done everything to protect her
integrity and I'm not now going to expose her
to ridicule because some people want to
exploit her situation to drag me into a
needless war of words.
"We've been battling this (Clara's health
challenges) prior to my inauguration in 2011.
It was so bad at a time that she had to be
taken out of here (Governor's Lodge) for
treatment.
"When she stabilised, I pleaded with her
doctors for her to be brought back here to be
receiving her treatment at home and they
graciously accepted.
"There was a time she was confined indoors
and that was strictly on her doctors' advice.
She's here and she can confirm or deny it.
Also, the doctors then advised against
allowing her access to telephones and
laptop."
Then Chime paused, heaved a sigh and
continued the story.
He said, "I cannot say or do anything to
undermine her dignity. She is, first and
foremost, my wife. The big blunder I
committed was allowing her access to the
telephone and her laptop, against the advice
of her doctor. I'm paying dearly for that
today, going by what is happening now.
"Her brother is here, her doctor is here with
us too. You people (journalists) can confirm
anything you want from them, either here and
at your convenience.
"Would I have been a better husband if I
asked her to leave the lodge because of her
medical challenges? Would it not have been
more convenient for me if I allowed her to
stay and be treated in the hospital?
"But like I said earlier, I wanted the best for
her and that's why I pleaded with the doctors
to have her treated at home. That is also why
I allowed her access to her telephone and
laptop, which unfortunately led to the stage
where I'm now being falsely accused of
imprisoning or detaining my own wife."
When it was her turn to speak, Mrs. Chime
could not. Her husband and brother had to
persuade her for a long time before she
could.
On the petition to the National Human Rights
Commission, she corroborated an earlier text
message she had sent to her husband that she
had not met Falana or engaged him to seek
her release from a purported unlawful
custody.
She rather admitted that she wrote a letter to
her doctor, Dr. Agumuo and another doctor
overseas who she was introduced to and
wondered how the letter leaked to the public.
Clara also admitted that she was once
confined to a room without access to her
telephone and laptop. She said, "That was
when I had a serious crisis."
The governor's wife also confirmed that she
has the key to her room and controls her
entry and exit, contrary to the claim in the
petition that she had beenlocked up for asking
to be allowed to leave.
Her grouse was that she had not been allowed
to leave the premises. "Though I attended
mass last Sunday," she said.
Her husband came in here and said, "All I
want to reassure you is that she is safe here.
Her confinement within the premises for now
is at the instance of her doctor who is here."
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