Rascally musician and grandfather, Charles Oputa popularly called Charly Boy today disrupted the funeral mass organised at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Oguta, Imo State for his late father Justice Chukwudifu Oputa as he suddenly went gaga and attacked his state Governor, Rochas Okorocha who he prevented from making a speech during the church service. Sensing that protocol was being breached during the funeral mass, Okorocha had called the officiating ministers to the need for him to make a welcome speech before President Goodluck Jonathan who was represented by the Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim will make his remarks. His idea was approved by clerics who decided to hand over the microphone to the governor. However as Okorocha rose to make his speech, Charly Boy seized the microphone from the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Jude Ike, a development that created pandemonium in the church. The officiating priest and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. (Dr) Matthew Hassan Kukah had pleaded with Charly Boy to allow Okorocha speak, but he refused, saying he would not allow his father's burial to be politicized. The scene led to a mass exodus of dignitaries thus ending the funeral service abruptly shortly after the governor stormed out of the church service. Nevertheless, the body of Oputa was later taken back to his country home for interment. In a swift reaction to the incident, the Imo State government in a statement said Charly Boy was sponsored to embarrass the governor by some Abuja based politicians who are angling to take Okorocha's seat in 2015. The statement said "It is highly regrettable that the son of the late Justice, Mr Charles Emeka Oputa, aka, Charly Boy threw caution to the wind and turned the church service into a political theater 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. "The Imo State governor had worked together with Mr 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 the President was first called to talk. Ideally, as a repsentative 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 that has always made them to hail him where ever and whenever he talks, 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 the polity over power since God is the giver of power. In 2015, God will decide who will be governor of Imo State and when God decides that, there is nothing anybody can do about it. And for Charly Boy, we ask God to bless him.
