Car Bomb Hits Convoy In Nigeria’s Southeast; 4 Killed

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ikedi Ohakim

BY CHINEDU ASADU

Four security officials were killed in a car bomb targeting a former government official in southeast Nigeria, authorities said Tuesday.

Three police officers and a paramilitary official were killed in the attack in Imo State on a convoy carrying the former governor Ikedi Ohakim, Police Commissioner Mohammed Barde said.

“The man (Ohakim) was ambushed and he was able to maneuver and escape,” said Barde. The four security personnel were killed in a different car, he said. The attack was an unfortunate setback to government efforts to restore peace in some of Nigeria’s conflict-ridden southeastern states, said Barde.

Southeast Nigeria has experienced a rise in violent attacks in recent years, often blamed on separatists trying to break away from the West African nation to form an independent country. The separatists who identify themselves as the Indigenous People of Biafra have become more violent amid calls for a referendum. Their attacks often target prominent people and security forces in the southeast, say conflict experts.

A manhunt to arrest the assailants has begun, said authorities.

The attack has raised fears among local residents who are concerned that security will be threatened in the area during the country’s presidential elections in February.

The violence comes months after an ambush on a lawmaker in the southeastern Anambra State which killed four police officers in September. After that incident last year, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he is “deeply concerned” about the troubled region.

NIGERIA: Murder Of Labour Party Candidate, Threat To Democracy ― Party National Chairman

BY OSARETIN OSADEBAMWE

Christopher Elehu

National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) Barr Julius Abure has decried another murder of its party member and former candidate of the Labour Party for the Onuimo Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly.

He said the Murder of the party candidate for the Onuimo Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly, Mr Christopher Elehu was a threat to Democracy as it is a reminder of the many assaults on LP members.

He pointed out that about two months ago, a woman leader in Kaduna State was murdered in cold blood and the security agencies are yet to make any arrest or prosecute perpetrators of this heinous crime against the Labour Party and democracy in Nigeria.

Christopher Elehu was murdered at his home by gunmen and his property was razed by the assailants.

In a statement from the party media office, it quoted the chairman of the party as saying that his request for police protection has been largely snubbed even when leaders and candidates of other political parties move around with detachment of police aides and escorts.

The statement further reads in part: “The Labour Party across Nigeria has been thrown into another saddened situation “over the death of another candidate of the party, Christopher Elehu in the hands of gunmen suspected to be hired killers on Friday.

“The late Elehu was the Labour Party (LP) candidate for Onuimo Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly. Apart from killing him, the gunmen also set his country home ablaze and destroyed his property.

According to the statement, Barrister Abure said, “The increased attack on Labour Party members and faithful is now alarming. Just a few weeks ago, our women leader in Kaura, Kaduna State was murdered in cold blood with the husband sustaining injuries and still in the hospital.

About six weeks ago the senatorial candidate of our party in Ebonyi State was kidnapped after police took the responsibility for his arrest. This was after days of his incarceration, he is now released without any charges.

“The billboards of all our candidates across the country are being pulled down and destroyed. There are a series of attacks on the party members and leaders across the country, and the mother of it all is the murder of this candidate in Imo State.

“We are using this opportunity to call on Mr President, security agencies, especially the Police and DSS to protect Labour Party, its leaders and its members.

“Election is not a do-or-die matter. The government must ensure that a level playing field must be created for all political parties, both those in power and those not in power. Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the blessed memory, once said the opposition is the soul of democracy.

“If there is no opposition then, of course, there is no democracy. Therefore government in power must not only protect those in government but also opposition party members.

“As of today, a lot of our candidates have no police protection, even me as the National Chairman, all my application to have police that was approved, yet none has been drafted to me. As the Chairman of one of the most popular political parties, I still do not have security assigned to me.

Our officers are exposed, our members are exposed and with the high level of insecurity now, we have become very vulnerable.

“So we are calling on the President to use his good office as well as security agencies to secure Labour Party, all its candidates, party members and supporters so that we can have a hitch-free election.

“This is important because the series of attacks on the Labour Party members shows that there might never be a hitch-free election. It is a serious threat to democracy.

Abure said “Democracy offers the citizens the opportunity to make choices and vote for candidates of their choice, so when they are been harassed, their leaders being killed, viable contestants being killed, including their supporters, it means that democracy is under threat.

“Those in government swore to uphold the constitution, I, therefore, call on those in government to provide security across, so that our democracy will not be in jeopardy. It would not be in the interest of anyone, particularly those who will be in government tomorrow to allow democracy to be threatened”, he said.

--------------------NIGERIA TRIBUNE

Nigeria Buries Remains After Illegal Refinery Blast

A person digs a grave for the mass burial of victims of the explosion at the illegal bunkering site in Imo state, Nigeria April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Tife Owolabi

BY CHINEDU ASIADU

OHAJI-EGBEMA, NIGERIA (AP) — Remains of more than 100 workers and traders who died after an illegal refinery exploded in southeast Nigeria were buried on Tuesday in an official ceremony after an incident that shocked the region.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said at least 110 people had died in Friday’s explosion though officials believe the casualty figure could be higher.

“As the days go by, most people who think their siblings travelled will now realize maybe they are victims of this (explosion),” said Marcel Amadioha, chairman of the Ohaji-Egbema local government area where the illegal refinery operated.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil and illegal refineries and oil bunkering activities have plagued the continent’s most populous nation for years.

Illegal refineries are “very widespread” in the West African nation mainly as a result of “the collapse of the system (with) poor security system and the lack of care for the pipelines,” said Nnimo Bassey, director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation environmental group in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s security forces are still hunting for two suspects who have been blamed by authorities for the explosion. However, local officials, including chairman Amadioha, have accused security agencies of “sabotage” in the incident, saying they work with the operators of illegal refineries.

“They were so loose that the illegal bunkers will come here in their numbers without any kind of threat, not feeling like the police or security agencies will come,” the council chairman said of the security agencies. “There are some of them who are collaborators, who are sabotaging the efforts of the real ones trying to make sure this illegal bunkering stops.”

Nigeria’s police and military did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comments.

Tuesday’s event was a hurried but solemn burial that had been delayed for four days since the explosion on Friday as local authorities made efforts to arrange for vital equipment such as excavators.

Many of the victims’ bodies had been carried away and buried by families with just about 50 left at the refinery site for Tuesday’s mass burial, according to Bright Onyenwoke, a youth leader. “My heart bleeds,” he told The Associated Press.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the nation’s security forces “to intensify the clampdown” on such facilities being operated illegally in many parts of southern Nigeria, but there are concerns it would be a difficult task given insecurity in the area and a high rate of poverty.

In Imo state, many of those who worked at the refinery site did so “out of frustration,” according to youth leader Onyenwoke, who said the communities in the area are being marginalized despite having dozens of oil wells.

“There is no good road, no good water, no electricity,” he said, “so, the means of survival here is hard,” adding that sometimes taking part in illegal businesses becomes preferable.

Oramaru Kwintus with Nigeria’s disaster management agency said that authorities will “embark on more sensitization of the youths on the dangers of these dangerous activities.”

Imo: Over 100 Youths Roasted; Culprit Declared Wanted; Govt Blames Rivers, Bayelsa Indigenes

Oil from a leaking pipeline burns in Goi-Bodo, a swamp area of the Niger Delta. Poverty in the region has made illegal crude refining an attractive business but with deadly consequences. Photograph: Reuters

BY CHARLES IGBO

OHAJI/EGBEMA LGA, IMO (THE SOURCE) - Hell has literally descended on Imo State. In one fell swoop, over 100 youths were burnt to death, thus reducing the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of the State to one huge venue for wailing and cemetery.

The youths met their sudden death when an illegal refinery owned by one Okenze Onyewoke where they were working exploded, and burst into hellish flames.

The circumstances which triggered the explosion Friday is not known yet. But the owner of the illegal business who has disappeared into thin air has been declared wanted by the Imo State Government.


The illegal refinery, is located at the Abaeze forest in the Ohaji Egbema LGA. As at the time of this report, the whole area was littered by scores of charred bodies. They were unrecognizable.

Anguish and wailing have taken over the LGA, as hundreds of people thronged the scene looking for their relations.

The Imo State Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Goodluck Opiah, who rushed to the scene was shocked at the number of fatalities. Lamenting the tragedy, Opiah, a native of the LGA, and a former Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly, said: “At the moment I can’t really confirm the number of the deceased because many family members have removed the corpses of so many others.”

Aside from the fatalities, Opiah lamented the other side effects of the explosion. Opiah: Apart from this calamity, the act has destroyed the aquatic life of the community. Our people, before now, are predominantly farmers and fishermen. Look around, you will find smoke coming from this illegal act. If this is not enough for anybody to stop, I think the community is heading for what I can’t describe.”


The Commissioner blamed Indigenes of neighboring Rivers and Bayelsa States for the deadly business.

He revealed: “Most of the people who are engaging in this act are from Rivers, Bayelsa and other neighboring States.”

He condoled with the people, on behalf of the Imo State Government, and advised Youths to engage in some other legal businesses than illegal ones.

Most of the youths, however, engage in it as a last resort because of the high unemployment rate in the country.

In 2024, Governor Hope Uzodimma Will Be Re-Elected

BY KENNETH UWADI

Hope Uzodinma. Image: Facebook

I read a story on Sahara Reporters of 1st January, 2022 titled, don’t seek re-election for second term, Nigerian Cleric, Primate Ayodele, warns Imo Governor. As the Igbo saying goes, when you see a frog in the day, there must be something after his life. When I read the Ayodele story, I got the picture. The hawks who want to take over Imo by fire by force are at it again. Their first strategy was sponsoring fake newspaper stories, and then they turned to sponsoring killings in the state. Their latest style is sponsoring and promoting fake prophecies. In actions and deeds, these hawks have been making silly and unpardonable mistakes. They have added thousands of votes to Governor Hope Uzodimma in 2004 without knowing it. Hours on end, they continue to add value to Uzodimma’s reelection by jumping from one mistake to another. In their futile bids to paint the governor black they have angered Ndi-Imo who now feel that the governor is being witch hunted for nothing. Men who want to rule the state are going about killing people, killing police, killing soldiers, killing traditional rulers, sponsoring fake prophecies and fake media stories about Imo.

Primate Ayodele only tickled himself and we all know that such a practice is an exercise in self deceit. His message reminds me of some so-called men and women of God, who predicted doomsday and Armageddon. Frightened Nigerians scampered abroad and to their states of origin in droves, some sold their properties at give away prices, awaiting the doomsday. Many died in the process. The disintegration never came. Like the Doomsday and Armageddon prophets, Ayodele’s message about Imo will not come to pass . Emerson once said in The Over Soul ‘’the soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth. We know the truth when we see it; let the skeptics and scoffers say what they choose’’. It is very saddening today to see that false pastors and prophets have dominated the airspace, news media and TV in the land. Today, false prophets prophesy all kinds of lies to enrich their never-satisfying stomachs, selfish and satanic desires. Jeremiah 5:31 informs us that: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power.

The presence of the unknown servants of God in Imo will keep the state away from doom. Imo is in the hands of God. The State will not enter into the hands of killers. Those who pride themselves on their weakness and incompetence, those who kill our people just because they want to rule the state , those whose love of false prophets and strange women know no bounds and have no end will not rule Imo. We know them. When they were governors what did they do? When they were governors they abdicated their responsibilities, destroyed their own political parties, divided their own people, brought ridicule to their own faith, looted Imo funds to high heavens, scorn Ndi-Imo. They are self-evident leaking ships. They will not rule. In 2024, Governor Hope Uzodimma will be re-elected.

When Hezekiah heard he was going to die, he prayed to God. He asked God to intervene. The very fact that he prayed is a remarkable sign of his faithfulness. Think how desperate his situation was. He was sick to death. He has had the prophetic word that he was going to die. The Lord showed his blessing upon him by healing him, by raising him up, by uniting him in the fellowship of worship in his temple and by granting him 15 more years of life and by giving him a son, delivering Jerusalem from the hand of the Assyrians. The Lord surely did glorify himself in answering the prayers of Hezekiah . God that did it for Hezekiah will do it for Imo. Message of Doom will not work in the state.

Balack told Balaam ‘’Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. But God said to Balaam, “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” The Almighty’s warning – thou shall not curse a man God has blessed. The guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. It is God that brought in Uzodimma and in 2024 he will become Governor for a second time. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! There will be a gang up but who can battle with the lord. Nobody! Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. And so shall it be. It is done.

Uzodinma, APC Have Turned Imo Into Abattoir For Killing Igbos – IPOB

Hope Uzodinma. Image: Twitter

BY SEUN OPEJOBI

OWERRI (DAILY POST) -- The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Monday accused Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State of collaborating with security operatives and Ebubeagu to kill innocent people in the state.

IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, claimed that Uzodinma, alongside the All Progressives Congress, APC, security agents and Ebubeagu, has turned Imo State into an “abattoir for innocent Biafrans.”

Powerful was reacting to reports that soldiers repelled and killed and operatives of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, in the state.


He noted that claims that security operatives repelled ESN operatives who allegedly besieged the palace of Eze Emmanuel Eze Okeke of Amaifeke in Orlu LGA Imo State are blatant lies by Uzodinma and his followers.


A statement by Powerful reads: “We are the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi KANU. Following the frustration and lack of professionalism by the Nigerian security agencies, they have as usual resorted to lies and propaganda to deceive the gullible minds.

“The Nigerian Army and police parading and killing innocent citizens in Imo State have started with falsehood to demonise their innocent victims. They can only deceive those who don’t know what is happening in Imo State since Hope Uzodinma and his APC party turned Imo State into an abattoir for innocent Biafrans.

“Nigerian security agents and Ebubeagu security members recruited by Hope Uzodinma were operating and killing innocent citizens in Imo State have lied again that they repelled ESN operatives who allegedly besieged the palace of Eze Emmanuel Eze Okeke of Amaifeke in Orlu LGA Imo State.


“This is another blatant lie from the pit of hell. IPOB/ESN operatives have no issues with traditional rulers in Biafraland but Nigeria army and police are trying to create the wrong impression that we are hunting the monarchs.”

2023 Presidency: Nigerians Will Run To Ghana If APC Returns – PDP Scribe

Samuel Anyanwu. Image: Facebook

BY TUNJI ADEDEJI

OWERRI, IMO STATE (DAILY POST) -- The National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Samuel Anyanwu has expressed worries over the security challenges in the country, especially, the South East geopolitical zone.

He said Nigerians, especially the youths will have no option than to leave for Ghana if APC returns to power after President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Senator Anyanwu, who was a member of the 8th Senate, expressed regret that the APC government had only worsened the suffering of Nigerians, after using Chibok girls to blackmail Jonathan’s administration out of power in 2015.

The party scribe, who stated this at his country home in Ikeduru Council area of Imo State while fielding questions from journalists, expressed the readiness of the party to reclaim the country from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023

He said, “under the current APC administration, Nigerians are going through economic and political trials. Every sector in the country has collapsed. Aside hunger, starvation and high cost of food items, Nigerians are still hiding from kidnappers or unknown or known gunmen.”

Anyanwu, who represented Imo East Senatorial District under the PDP went on to state that if President Muhammadu Buhari and APC did not leave office in 2023, nothing good should be expected from the administration.

Anyanwu said the only thing Nigerians are asking for is a smooth transition of results from the polling units but because the APC wants to rig the general election in 2023, they have refused to do the needful.

He said Nigeriains shouldn’t expect much from a party with too many factions being manned by a state governor.

He said more factions will emerge in Imo APC and at the Federal level before March 2022, “because they are not together. Nigerians will resist APC, in Imo State, because they are standing on the neck of the people,”

He urged Nigerians not to lose hope over the present challenges confronting the country, assuring them of PDP’s readiness to rescue and rebuild the nation when it takes over power.

He said the APC government had lowered the bar of governance in the State and the country.

He described Nigeria as the most indebted country in the world.

“There is a seriously high level of corruption in the country today under the APC led administration,” he lamented.

Rochas Okorocha's Address To Imo State Congress Of America Town Hall Meeting

FROM THE ARCHIVES

AUGUST 4, 2013

Rochas Okorocha, Governor of Imo State Speech to the Imo State Congress of America Town Hall Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, August 4, 2013. Image: Abiodun Oluwarotimi/The Leader News



"What is happening in Imo state now has never been recorded in the past twenty years and that was the result of my decision not to allow corruption in my government. I want you all to know that it was not my desire to be governor in Imo state but I had to come on a rescue mission when I saw failure instead of success.

"The level and the condition I met the state was very embarrassing to the extents that my colleagues did not want to spend nights anytime they visited me. I almost fainted the day Ohakim was handing over to me because everywhere looked very bad.

"The level of crimes and prostitution among our girls and boys had reduced since we made them enjoy free education at all levels. In fact, we do pay some stipends to all our students just for them to be very comfortable

"Education is worth appreciating in the state. You must appreciate something that you want to get the best out of. You can never get the best out of something you do not appreciate, and something you do not appreciate will surely depreciate

"PDP has no plan for the South East because it cannot guarantee an Ibo man becoming the president in 2015. APGA also cannot guarantee an Ibo man becoming the president of the nation because it is not a national party but it is only the APC that can make this happen so I implore all the people from the South East to come and join us

"Why should you, upon all your qualifications, come to America, pick up dirty jobs and still be insulted when there are better opportunities for you to team up with my administration if you know you have the potentials to help develop the state" 

NIGERIA: The Imo Fiasco: Time To Legislate Handover

Rochas Okorocha

BY STEVE OSUJI

OWERR (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- It is a perverse and graceless state out here in Imo State. One is not talking about the sheer dishevelment and post hurricane scenarios right from the Government Lodge down to the lost corners of the state. If a governor’s dwelling place is in a state of disgrace, there is no telling how the rest of his domain would be. No, I talk not about the bad behaviours of our immediate past governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha; it’s about the long-term debilitating effect of bad governance and about solution.

Again, this is not even about the heavy physical damage he inflicted on a once-beautiful, serene and upwardly mobile state. It is about the violence done to our psyche, our esteem and worst of all, our institutions. It can be said that where there are no institutions, there really is no life in the true sense of it because there is no human essence; no culture, no tradition and of course no civilization. In this new age of mankind, institution is everything. Peoples and countries that understand that institutions are sacrosanct; those who have the best institutions will always lead the world.

But the Okorocha mystique was to obliterate and vanquish institutions. Thus for eight years, he waged a relentless war against all the institutions there were in Imo state. And of course he left no institutional edifice of his time; not a trace. He did not only crash all systems, he pulled out the memory card and yanked the hard drive. Imo today can be likened to a vacuous state; a blind blunder-head groping about in the dark. Imo is devoid of any institutional memory whatsoever.

Consider this scenario: Commissioners for Information for eight years were eight. There were about five Secretaries to the State Government, about four commissioners for Land. This was the trend in his governance. Then there was balkanization of ministries and agencies, merging and de-merging including new ones like ministry of Happiness and all that jazz.

All of these were happening on the whims of Number one; as His Excellency woke up each day. Strategic appointees of state were called up and yanked off even before they were seated. In a situation like this, hardly any record is kept; there was no proper understanding of the importance of documentation and archiving, the state was run on the run so to speak. In an environment like this, it would of course be difficult to have a proper report of stewardship or give account; especially if there was no intention to hand over in the first place as was the case with former Governor Okorocha. It is this manner of dilemma besetting the immediate past administration that has made it very difficult if not impossible for it to handover its affairs of eight years.

Of course, anyone who knows about the running of government would discern that a proper handover could not be achieved by the Okorocha Administration. That there was no formal handover was made plain at the inauguration of the Secretary of the Imo State Government recently. During the occasion, Governor Emeka Ihedioha had called up the sitting Permanent Secretary of Government House who was the most senior personnel left to take the in-coming members of the new administration round the offices. He was asked about the status of formal handing over. The Principal Secretary had told the audience in the hall that no handover had been put to effect whereupon there was much angry rumbling in the audience.

It must be noted that there was no formal meeting between the governor-elect and the sitting governor in Imo State since the election was won and lost. Here was no cooperation in the activities leading to the inauguration. A sham joint transition committee was set up by the Okorocha administration which proposed elaborate project visit, but it was only a ruse to distract the in-coming government.

There have also been photographs of the cover of a handover note flying about in the social media. Some handover note, a man with understanding would wonder. Even if we assume that some notes are contained in that cover, the natural question to ask is that is that all Owelle Okorocha has to handover after eight years? For those who know, one consultancy and design report on one major road would be bulkier that Okorocha’s eight-year report of stewardship. Owelle Okorocha has forgotten so soon how then Governor Ikedi Ohakim handed over to him in 2011.

According to officials who witnessed the ceremony held in the Exco Chamber of Imo government House between top government officials led by Ohakim and the then in-coming governor-elect Okorocha and his team. According to report, the atmosphere was convivial between the sitting governor and the in-coming one.

Ohakim was said to have brought a truck load of documents representing his four years of stewardship which made Owelle Okorocha to joke that he wished all the documents were cash. Ohakim also handed Okorocha other paraphernalia of office as well as giving him confidential executive briefing. It was a serious and comprehensive state ceremony; it was an act of governance and statecraft. More remarkable, it was an act of grace and statesmanship. Managing a state is not only a serious business, it is a divine trust, it is about the lives of millions of people and must be carried out with the sobriety and in deed solemnity that it requires. But Owelle Okorocha turned governance into a plaything, an infantile affair and for eight years, the governance of Imo State was like children playing in the sand, trying to reenact governance within the ambit of their childish estimations. The result today is pathetic to behold.

It is true that there were other wayward governors who practically absconded from government house without the right and proper transition procedures. This is unacceptable and indeed a crime to the people of the states they had governed for so long and abandoned at the end stage.

By this piece advocates for a legislation to set the standards and procedures for ‘trasitioning’ from one government/administration to the other. This is both for the states and the federal government. In fact we suggest a publication of each state’s audited accounts of an administration before a formal handover of office. The law may also stipulate that an out-going governor MUST as a matter of duty, personally account for his stewardship at the handover ceremony.

This is a challenge to both the National Assembly and the States’ Houses of Assembly. A well made law would keep state executives on their toes as they run their states on a daily basis knowing that they would have to give a thorough account at the end of the day. This way, no in-coming governor would be left high and dry the way the Rochas Okorocha left Emeka Ihedioha. We must relentlessly interrogate the way our country is run if we want to march in stride with the rest of the world.

Osuji is Media Aide to Governor Emeka Ihedioha

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

We’ll Not Run Govt Of Propaganda – Ihedioha

Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha. Image via Daily Sun

BY GEORGE ONYEJIUWA

OWERRI (DAILY SUN) -- Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has said his administration would not be run on propaganda.

This was just as he reiterated that his government would recover all assets, property, funds and private lands forcefully acquired by the immediate past governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and officials of his administration.

He also disclosed his administration would set up team of legal experts for the review and update of the extant laws of the state to be in tandem with the objective of his administration to develop both infrastructurally and industrially.

The governor stated this, yesterday, while declaring open a three-day retreat/orientation for Imo State House of Assembly members-elect of the ninth Assembly held at the Crystal Lake Resort, Oguta.

“We are not going to run an administration based on propaganda and we will not be distracted by those who have already decided to bad mouth us. What we promised the people of the state is that besides restoring the state to progress, we are going to recover all looted funds, assets, property and private lands that were forcefully acquired by the immediate past governor, Rochas Okorocha and officials of his administration. We are compiling a comprehensive list of those involved in the criminal act and would soon be forwarded to security agencies.

“You cannot run a state the way you like, you don’t just take away the property of a state; that is stealing and we will criminalise you. If government is run the way the immediate past administration did, former governors of the state would have left nothing for their successors. I can’t just swallow the lie that I have been handed over to when I wasn’t.”

He maintained that his administration is going to review all land allocations immediately, stressing that it did not matter when it was back dated as the administration has already secured the services of forensic experts to determined the actual date when such lands were allocated.

He re-emphasised his commitment to qualitative education, poverty and unemployment alleviation, wealth creation, massive investment in agriculture, good quality health care for the people as well as an enabling environment to make the state a preferred destination for business.

Imo Assembly Sacks LG Chairmen, Councillors, Boards’ Members

Imo State House of Assembly building.

BY UROWAYINO WARAMI

Owerri (VANGUARD) — Imo State House of Assembly yesterday, suspended indefinitly, chairmen of the 27 local government areas of the state, councillors, as well as all the boards’ appointments made by the immediate past governor, Rochas Okorocha.

Affected also in the indefinite suspension were all the recently-named universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

The House, among other things, also mentioned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, be invited with a view to unravelling the true financial status of Imo State as well as its debt profile.

It further ordered that the former Speaker, Acho Ihim, be stripped of his privileges, alleging that he derailed the House.

The reasons for their action were heaped on what some of them claimed to be “bad leadership of the former Speaker, Ihim, which stifled our voices

.” Recall that the same Imo State lawmakers, at different levels, approved and participated in the last appointments drama, approvals and local government council elections.

Vanguard was told that the last minute dramatic indefinite suspensions were made by the core loyalists to Governor Okorocha.

Vanguard learned that the action of Imo House of Assembly came after adopting a motion moved by Mike Iheanetu(Aboh Mbaise state constituency), demanding for the immediate dissolution of the last minute appointments and boards by the Okorocha government.

In another motion, which was moved by the member representing Ezinihitte Mbaise, Bruno Ukoha and adopted, he called for the indefinite suspension of the council bosses and their vice chairmen.

I Am Leaving N42.5 Billion For Ihedioha To Govern Imo, Says Okorocha

Rochas Okorocha

BY CHARLES OGUGBUAJA

OWERRI (GUARDIAN) -- Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday said he would leave a whopping 42.5 billion for his successor, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, to enable him work without initial excuses.

Okorocha disclosed this while swearing in the new Head of Service, Mrs. Ngozi Ama Eluwa; 11 new Permanent Secretaries and Accountant-General, Donald Igbo, at the Government House in Owerri. He said N8.1 billion is meant for the payment of salaries and capital projects, while N5.2 billion would be for payment of pension arrears.

But the incoming administration of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) through the state’s Publicity Secretary of the party, Damian Oparah, alleged that Okorocha would leave with debt of over N100 billion and uncompleted projects, among other myriad of problems.

The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Damian Oparah, who spoke with The Guardian, expressed disgust over the comment.“It is when we see it we know if it is true. He is leaving N45.5 billion when he is also leaving over N100 billion debt; over N200 billion worth of uncompleted projects and problems he created in the state. Look at Owerri each time it rains how the entire place is.” Oparah said.

The outgoing Imo State governor, who accused the PDP chieftains of sending petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which made the agency to block the funds for the payment of pension arrears and others at the point of commencing payment, advised the new appointees to reposition the state civil service, shun corruption and keep their integrity.

He said: “Remember God in discharging your duties. Discharge your duties without fear or favour and also defend your state when the need arises. I gave this state my best. I will do all I can to support the incoming government. Imo State Government has kept aside a total of N4.5 billion for the in-coming government, and for that reason, I will set up a sub-committee to make sure that the projects they are attached to come to fruition even when I am out of office or when I will not be available because government is a continuum.”

Okorocha Hasn’t Released Money For My Inauguration, Says Imo Gov-Elect

Imo State Governor-Elect Emeka Ihedioha. Image: Market Digest

BY CHIDIEBUBE OKEOMA

OWERRI (PUNCH) --Governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha, has said that the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha has not released a dime for his swearing-in on May 29.

Ihedioha, who spoke in a statement issued by the secretary of his inauguration and handover committee, Ray Emeana, who doubles as the secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, said that the governor had refused to finance the inauguration activities.

According to the governor-elect, there was no truth that Okorocha had released N150m to his inauguration and handover committee for the May 29 program.

The statement read partly “Governor Rochas Okorocha has not released any money to the Emeka Ihedioha Inauguration Planning And Handover Committee.

“For the avoidance of doubts, Governor Rochas Okorocha and his outgoing government have not released any money to the Inauguration Planning and Handover Committee. The committee has not requested for any money either. Rather, the joint committee made up of the 31–member Ihediohia team and the 21–member Rochas Okorocha team met and adopted common resolutions on how best to proceed with the inauguration activities. Rochas Okorocha has since abandoned the mutual resolutions and proceeded with his “Internet-based Commissioning of Internet Sited Projects.

“Conscious of the importance Imo people attach to the May 29, 2019 handover date, the Ihedioha/Irona inauguration committee has proceeded with arrangements to deliver a world-class inauguration to Imo people come May 29, 2019.

“Arrangements to ensure this delivery include such activities such as providing clean environments within and around event venues including the Dan Anyiam and Grass Hoppers Handball stadia.

“Indeed, Imo is already agog with excitement. Currently, Owerri is the destination of choice for prominent Nigerians at home and in the diaspora. The hotels are fully booked. Flights into Owerri are filled up. The venues for the various programmes are wearing new and fresh looks.

“We can understand the frustrations of Governor Okorocha and the remnants of his e-rats, having realized that their efforts to derail the swearing-in of His Excellency, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha and Hon (Engr) Gerald Irona as Imo State Governor and Deputy Governor respectively have failed woefully.”

NIGERIA: N1b Imo debt: CBN, 14 Banks Deny Overseeing State’s Account

ABUJA (THE NATION) -- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 14 other banks of the 17 ordered by an FCT High Court to show cause why plea for garnishee of alleged accounts operated by the Imo State government should not be made absolute have denied overseeing the state’s accounts.

The denials were contained in the respondents briefs filed by the concerned banks yesterday in Abuja, and shared by lawyer for the Judgment Creditors, Mr. Anthony Agbonlahor.

The judgment creditors – E.F. Network Nig. Ltd and Mr. Gideon Egbuchulam – on April 17, approached the court with an ex parte motion, praying it to compel 17 banks allegedly overseeing the Imo state government accounts to effect the payment.

Justice Bello Kawu granted the prayer by directing the listed banks to show cause why the order should not made absolute.

The banks are Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Jaiz Bank, Union Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA), First Bank Plc, Ecobank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, and Diamond Bank Plc.

Others are Fidelity Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Plc, GTBank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Heritage Bank Plc, and FCMB Bank Plc.

The Supreme Court in March affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Owerri, which ordered the defendants to pay the N1 billion contract debt owed the judgment creditors.

The apex court held that the appeal by the government and Governor Rochas Okorocha, challenging the judgment of the lower court, was not meritorious.

However, going by the respondents brief filed by the 17 banks, 14 of them denied overseeing any Imo government accounts.

The CBN said it was not in the position to effect the order since it had only administrative supervisory powers over banks.

Its lawyer Ahmed Abdullahi said the bank did not maintain accounts in the name of the judgment debtor.

He further said the bank had such powers to track funds due to the government in the consolidate revenue fund of Imo state. Abdullahi also argued that the bank did not partake in the actual sharing of funds to from the Federation Account. He added that CBN, as a public officer, required the consent of the Attorney-General of the Federation to act on legal matters and the processes served on the bank did indicate consent was sought.


Abdullahi, therefore, prayed the court to vacate the order and discharge the bank in the interest of justice.

However, the respondent’s brief filed by Zenith Bank Plc indicated that the government maintained an account with it, but the account was used to obtain a N10 billion loan from the bank in 2016 and spread across 240 months.

Similarly, Access Bank, in its response, agreed to oversee a number of the judgment debtor’s account, but that the balances in those accounts were abysmally negligible and there were no recent transactions on the accounts.

But Agbonlahor said Access Bank’s testimony was incorrect.

The Imo State Attorney-General, Chief M.O Nlemedim (SAN), also filed a Motion on Notice seeking the termination of the garnishee proceedings for want of competence.

He is asking the court for an order restraining the judgment creditors, agents, representatives or the garnishee banks from relying on the said garnishee order pending the determination of the motion.

The state is also seeking the setting aside of the April 17 garnishee order for allegedly being an abuse of court process.

Justice Bello Kawu fixed June 25 for continuation of hearing.

NIGERIA: Police Brutality, Extortion Worse In South East –NHRC

Image via Nigeria Police Watch

BY GEORGE ONYEJIUWA

OWERRI (SUN NEWS) -- South East Coordinator of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mrs. Uche Nwokocha, has raised the alarm about alleged police brutality, abuse, intimidation and extortion in the zone.

This was even as she noted the conduct of policemen, who she alleged constituted themselves into a terror group.

The NHRC boss stated this during the Public Tribunal on Police Corruption, Brutally and Abuse in Southern Nigeria in Owerri, capitalof Imo State, yesterday.

She said: “Police corruption, abuse and brutality have become more pervasive in the South East.

“There is high level of impunity and extortion, with illegal checkpoints at every one pole and those who refuse to give in to the extortion by these armed policemen would be severely manhandled.

“Some unfortunate ones have ended up being killed and, thereafter, framed as armed robbers.”

Nwokocha maintained that the anti-kidnapping, anti-cultism and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have all become agents of terror.

“The extra-judicial killings by officers of the SARS is frightening and efforts by the NHRC and the Network of Police Reforms in Nigeria, to get the police accountable for these extra-judicial killings have failed.

“In most cases, the police will lie that the culprit has been dismissed, when, in fact, they have been transferred.

“Today, SARS is now used as debt collectors, for settlement of land and even family disputes, which are simply civil matters.”

Also, National Coordinator of #EndSARS, Segun Awosanya, said SARS officers have constituted themselves into an organised crime syndicate, who are above the law.

“Our police system has been operating under the oppressive Act of 1943 and, until that Act is repealed and replaced with a more progressive one that is in tandem with the administration of criminal justice.

“Today, what we have as police officers are people who constitute themselves into an organised crime syndicate that are above the law and that is why we are calling for the scrapping of SARS or its total overhauling.

“We want every police officer to be subjected to psychological evaluation because, you don’t give a gun to a man that is mentally unbalanced,” Awosanya noted.

NOPRIN National Coordinator, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the organisation had been at the forefront of police reforms and that the tribunal was purposely organised for the people of the South East, who are victims of police brutality and abuse.



He said south easterners should come forward with their experiences, which would form part of their recommendations for action.

Imo APC Expels Guber Candidate

Hope Uzodinma image via The Nation

BY OKODILI NDIDI

OWERRI, IMO STATE (THE NATION)--The Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ), on Thursday, expelled its governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma over alleged anti-party activities.

The state Chairman of the party, Hon Daniel Nwafor, who announced the expulsion during a media briefing at the party’s secretariat, said that the action became necessary to save the party from disintegration.

According to him, it has been established that the APC governorship candidate is sponsoring opposition candidates against the party’s candidates in the state, adding that such action is capable of ruining the chances of the APC in the elections.

“Senator Hope has been sponsoring the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Senatorial candidate, Senator Osita Izunaso as against the APC Senatorial candidate in Imo West, Governor Rochas Okorocha, he has also been running parallel Exco in his Omuma Ward and issuing party cards without recourse to party Exco”, Nwafor alleges.

A statement jointly signed by the Chairman (Daniel Nwafor) and the Secretary, Hon Obioma Ireagwu, reads “this is to inform you that the All Progressives Congress (APC) Omuma Ward of Oru East Local Government Area in Imo State has expelled Senator Hope Uzodinma from the party due to certain inordinate and anti-party activities perpetrated by him and his cohorts.

“The Imo State Working Committee (SWC) of our great party has examined the processes and procedures of the sanction on Senator Hope Uzodinma by his Ward as affirmed by the Local Government organ of the party in Oru East. Conclusively, the State Working Committee satisfied with the procedures and decision of Omuma Ward, hereby affirm the expulsion order as well”.

Further justifying the expulsion, Nwafor submitted that “we are saving the party, we have an election in three weeks time and we cannot allow our governorship candidate to be sponsoring opposition candidates. We will no longer recognize Senator Hope Uzodinma as our governorship candidate because he is no longer a member of our party”.

He continued that, “we will not allow one candidate to jeopardize the chances of our other candidates who are vying for various positions across the state. We have communicated the National Working Committee of our party on our decision and we have also instructed all APC members in the state not to have anything to do with Senator Hope Uzodinma and his ambition forthwith”.

NIGERIA: Court Nullifies Suspension Of Imo Lawmakers, Fines Okorocha, Speaker N8m

Rochas Okorocha image via New Telegraph, Nigeria

BY STEVE UZOECHI

OWERRI (NEW TELEGRAPH)--A High Court sitting in Imo State yesterday quashed the suspension of four members of the State House of Assembly, describing the suspension as illegal.

The court, in its ruling, also fined Governor Rochas Okorocha, Speaker Acho Ihim and the Imo State House of Assembly to the tune of N8million awarded jointly to the applicants, Dr. Uche Oguwuike (Ikeduru APC), Mr Chiji Collins (Isiala Mbano APC), Mr. Israel Nnataraonye (Mbaitoli) and Mr. Ikenna Nzeruo (Oru East APC) as damages and the sum of N100, 000 in legal fees.

The presiding Judge, Justice Goddy Anunihu, in his ruling on the matter also directed the Speaker of the House and the Imo House of Assembly who were the first and second respondents, to pay the applicants their salaries, allowances and emoluments for the period they were suspended.

Delivering judgment, Anunihu, who described the action of the Assembly as ‘putting the cart before the horse’ added that the allegations leveled against the four suspended members were vague and that the suspended lawmakers were not given a fair hearing on the matter.

He ruled that the House should have deferred the matter to listen to the affected members before suspending them.

He also ruled that the suspension of the members was a gross violation of the rights of the constituents of the suspended members and violated their rights to fair hearing.

One of the reinstated lawmakers, Nnataraonye, in a telephone conversation shortly after the judgment said, “I have already moved in and resumed duties. I am in my office as I speak. This is a victory for democracy and rule of law, it shows that our judicial system is a place of justice.”
Also reacting to the ruling, the counsel to the applicants, Barr Mike Ohanaka said the ruling was well thought out and very just.

Recall that the four lawmakers were suspended by the assembly on June 27, 2018 over alleged unparliamentary conduct.

The suspension followed a motion moved by the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Lugard Osuji (APC Owerri Municipal) and seconded by Hon. Lawman Duruji.

NIGERIA: Okorocha: The Czar Learns The Hard Way

BY FELIX NWANERI

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

OWERRI (NEW TELEGRAPH)--It is evident that these are not the best of times for Governor Rochas Okorocha, over last weekend’s submission of list of governorship and House of Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

With the party’s submission of the list, Okorocha, who had insisted on his son-in-law and Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu, as the party’s governorship candidate in Imo State, has his dream of anointing his successor crash like a pack of cards. Nwosu was knocked out by the senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Hope Uzodinma.

The governor and the senator had been locked in a fierce battle for the soul of APC in the state since the ward congress of the party. Okorocha, who is supposedly versed in the intricacies of party politics, was left guessing by an alliance of APC stakeholders in the state led by Uzodinma, who upstaged him, not only in the ward congress, but the local government and state congresses.

But, politics being a game of the possible, the table later turned in favour of the governor, when the court cancelled the congresses, following a suit by Okorocha’s camp.

The court also ordered fresh congresses at the various levels, an order which the party’s national leadership consented to. When Okorocha regained control of the APC in the state after the fresh congresses, it became clear to many that it was time for him to pay back his traducers in their own coin.

The first casualty was his deputy, Prince Eze Madumere, who was hurriedly impeached by the state House of Assembly over allegations of gross misconduct and dereliction of duty. In Madumere’s stead, Okorocha nominated the Head of Service, Mr. Callistus Ekenze, but an interim order by a High Court sitting Owerri, the Imo State Capital, stopped his swearing-in as the new deputy governor of the state.

The court issued an interim order following a suit by Madumere challenging his impeachment.

Having unsettled and frustrated Madumere and others who were determined to succeed him out of the APC, the coast at that time seemed clear for Okorocha to have his way.

To the governor, who rode on the goodwill of Imo people to power in 2011, there was nothing stopping the move to entrench the Okorocha political dynasty, which his critics say allows little opportunity for outsiders to hold offices of power and service. Comprised mainly of members of his immediate family, the character of the dynasty’s politics, is, that to its elements belong the spoils of war.

Besides Nwosu, who is the Chief of Staff, Okorocha’s younger sister, Mrs. Ogechi Ololo, is the commissioner for Happiness and Purpose Fulfillment. Before her appointment as commissioner, Ololo served as Chief of Staff, Domestic Affairs apart from being in charge of the Christmas Decoration Project since the inception of the administration.

Also, another of Okorocha’s sons-in-inlaw, Uzoma Anwuka, is an important personality in his government. Uzoma is the son of the current Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, a former vice chancellor of the state owned university (Imo State University), who served as Secretary to the State Government (SSG) during Okorocha’s first tenure.

The governor, whose tenure elapses on May 29, next year, has picked his party’s ticket to contest for the Imo West senatorial seat. But, while he was basking in the euphoria of his triumph at the party’s congresses and primaries, especially that for the governorship, which was conducted twice before Nwosu emerged, it never occurred to him that unlike other chieftains of the party, who sought for refuge in other parties, Uzodinma was determined not to let go.

The senator and governor’s son-inlaw had emerged candidates of parallel primaries conducted by the two APC factions in the state.

But, wading into the matter, the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, at a time advised the governor to cede 45 per cent of the party’s structure to the Uzodinma group in a bid to cater for the interest of the contending forces.

Oshiomhole was also said to have asked Okorocha to choose between his senatorial ambition and his desire to have his son in-law as his successor, but the governor insisted that he and his anointed were the best candidates for the governorship and senatorial seats. He further maintained that no one can win election in the state without his backing.

The governor, who never hid his frustration over the way Oshiomhole handled the impasse, seized every opportunity to blast the party’s national chairman. He also made moves to persuade President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the matter, but was not successful. Perhaps, having done all he could to turn the tide; he resorted to a subtle threat against the party.

Speaking last Thursday, after a meeting with President Buhari at the presidential villa, Okorocha, who is the Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, claimed that that the party under Oshiomhole has lost five million voters given the way he (Oshiomhole) has fuelled anger among party faithful and protests across the country.

But, Oshiomhole, a labour leader turned politician, who is not new to battles of such magnitude, was not ready to yield ground. He maintained that APC has no room for emperors like Okorocha.

His words: “There are no emperors in APC; if anybody tries to make himself as one, it will be an exercise in futility. What I have not been able to do for Governor Okorocha is to assist him with the instrument of APC, even as that will border on abuse of power on my side. And I do not have such powers to help him to create Rochas Okorocha political dynasty in Imo State in which he will be the APC Senatorial candidate and his son in-law, Uche Nwosu, the governorship candidate.

“I am convinced that this is where many of my friend governors tend not to understand me. If there is conflict between the known interest of the great people of Imo, who have reposed confidence in us by voting us to power as they did in 2015, I will resist. I will resist every unlawful pressure to undermine the wishes of the good people of Imo and at this stage, the wishes of APC members in Imo who do not want a political dynasty, by the way they have voted.”

While hope seems to have dimmed for Nwosu making it to the ballot for the March 2, 2019 governorship election, Okorocha insists that the aspiration of his son-in-law is not in the hands of Oshiomhole, but in the hands of God first, and Imo people.

NIGERIA: Okorocha Withdraws Security, Staff From Deputy Gov’s Office

Rochas Okorocha image via This Day Newspapers

BY AMBY UNEZE

OWERRI (THIS DAY)--Imo State Governor, Mr. Rochas Okorocha saturday withdrew security personnel and staff attached to the office of the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Eze Madumere without clear reason.

In swift reaction, Madumere condemned the decision of the governor to withdraw most of the key staff attached to his office, describing it as unwarranted action in withdrawing most of the key staff attached to his Office.

He expressed disappointed at the decision during a conversation with journalists, recalling that since his acquittal from the impeachment plot in the High Court seating in Owerri presided by Justice Benjamin Iheka, there had been gross disregard to his office.

He lamented that his security aides have not been restored even after he had written to the appropriate authorities for almost two months running.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi could not restore his security in spite of the court verdict since September, noting that it portended danger of his life.

In a memo with Reference NO: HIS/S.29/S.1/t.3/1/807, 12 members of the staff were posted out of the office of the deputy governor where eight of them are operational staff and drivers while others are administrative staff, including senior staff on data processing.

He, however, said the Imo State Government led by Okorocha had resolved “to cause harm if not make attempt on the life of the deputy governor.

“We recall that during the series of impeachment plots to remove the Deputy Governor, we raised alarm over the grand plan to harm Prince Madumere following his stance against imposition of Governor’s son-in-law, Mr. Uche Nwosu and other irreconcilable issues that bordered on policies.

“We also recall how some members of the domestic staff of the Deputy Governor were approached to be used as agents of death to poison the deputy governor.

“Therefore, Office of the Deputy Governor regrets the tyrannical model of governance approach of the government even in a democracy, where people’s opinion or freedom of Speech, association and other fundamental rights are not respected.

“It is also regrettable to note that Imo State government should throw caution to the wind by flagrantly refusing to observe ethics, values and respect for the hierarchy of office in an established organization as a government to the extent where the opinion of the deputy governor is not sought before issue as sensitive as posting out staff from the office of the deputy governor by the head of service.

“We wish to state categorically that the sudden posting of the operational staff of the office of the deputy governor is a careful plot to compromise the security of Prince Eze Madumere.

“We therefore view the whole actions and inactions of the government of Imo State as wholly suspicious and a well-known old preparatory gimmicks before high profile heinous crimes like assassinations are committed.

“We wish to therefore notify the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Imo State and other security agencies to take note of the suspicious actions and inactions of Imo State Government led by His Excellency, Rochas Okorocha”, the statement said.

Former Security Boss Raises Alarm Over Unauthorized Arms In Imo

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE CASE OF IMO STATE

Zeek-Martins Nnadozie

BY BEN DURU, CORRESPONDENT, OWERRI JUNE 29, 2007 

OWERRI (INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS)--Former Special Adviser to the Imo State Government on Security Matters, Chief Zeek-Martins Nnadozie has decried the amount of arms and ammunition in the hands of thugs hired by politicians during the last general election.

He insisted that some of the hoodlums armed with the weapons during the period, were using them for different purposes, because their original use had been overtaken by events.

Speaking with newsmen in Owerri, Imo State, he maintained that the number of arms and ammunition imported into the state for the prosecution of the various elections was unimaginable.

"I have always said that election is not a do-or-die affair and people must not embark on such things that would later boomerang on them because they want to win an election at all costs," he said.

The former security boss maintained that since the elections had come and gone, those who had the weapons handed over to them were now beginning to terrorize the state with the same weapon and making life uneasy for the populace.

He advised that since the politicians that bought and armed the thugs were still around, they should go back to the thugs and reclaim the weapons before they are used to wreck more havoc.

According to him the issue of security while he was at the helm of affairs in the state, was always treated with the rapt attention adding that it was for this reason that the incidence of armed robbery and other nefarious crimes were reduced to a manageable level at the period.

He stressed that not less than 400 armed robbery suspects were apprehended and handed over to the police during the period, which was to ensure that the people slept with their two eyes closed.

"What we did during the period under review is that I expect that the present administration would do. We made sure that we gave the issue of security the attention it deserved. The governor was willing and gave us attention and that was why we succeeded," he said adding that it was as a result of the determination to stamp out criminality in the state that saw the purchase of large scale equipment, ranging from vehicles to communication gadgets for the police and other security agencies.

Nnadozie, who is gunning for chairmanship of Ehime Mbano Local Government Area in the coming council election, debunked allegation that the current government in the state was slow, arguing that it was only to put processes in place for developments that would shock the people.