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

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.”

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.

Rochas Okorocha's End Game In Imo State

BY OBI NWAKANMA

VANGUARD NIGERIA, AUGUST 7, 2016

GOV. ROCHAS OKOROCHA

First, let us start by where Rochas Okorocha began: he was swept into government on the wings of the APGA, following a populist revolt at the polls in Imo state that threw out the PDP government of Mr. Ikedi Ohakim in 2011. Ohakim was a man of ideas. He just had trouble with implementation, and so his program sounded too futuristic to a people who wanted immediate relief, and immediate benefit from government programs.

Take for instance the dredging of the River Nworie and the rebuilding of the ecological floodplains and swamps that might serve to provide both recreational and ecological benefits to the city of Owerri: it was a possible, laudable, actionable project, which was mismanaged, misrepresented, and ultimately bungled because that administration failed to secure citizens buy-in for such a monumental project. 

Ohakim was also perceived as brash and alienated in the views of most people, and could not connect with the electorate at the very popular level. He was also believed to have squandered much of the state’s revenue, and like previous governors before him saw Imo state as no more than a honeypot, and Imo people, as no better than troglodytes requiring weekly “how-to” lectures that were big on pictures but small in details. Everywhere you went to in Imo state in those days, all one saw were idolatrous pictures of Ikedi Ohakim hung on proposed projects. It was the subject of a fierce exchange I had with my late friend and colleague, Pini Jason, who insisted to the very end that Ohakim was on to something. 

The problem was that I couldn’t see it. And Imo people apparently couldn’t see it, and they rebelled at the poll. The upsurge of the faith the Igbo always had in Emeka Ojukwu, not on the upstart Okorocha, propelled the present governor to Douglas House. On the strength of a party supposedly backed by Ojukwu, on one hand, and on a capacity for populist demagoguery on the other, Rochas Okorocha was swept into office as Governor of Imo state. It was one of the greatest mistakes the APGA as a party made in 2011.

 So, in a terrible misjudgment, APGA handed Rochas Okorocha, a bird of flight in that party, the slot for governor. It also so happened that aside from his personal capacity for street drama, Okorocha is an astute politician. His politics of course derives not from solid or fundamental ideas, but on simple notions of power and the drama on which power is sometimes staged. 

And so, he presented an alternative face to the Imo people, and for a very brief moment, the Imo electorate, normally informed and discerning bought into his melodrama. He even put up a great show at the debate organized that year by the Catholic Church for Gubernatorial candidates in Imo state. Some who knew a little about Rochas’ background cried out against a great mistake that was about to be made in electing Mr. Okorocha. He had promised a great load of bullshit. Among these, “free education” for Imo children up to the tertiary level. 

I knew personally, as does anyone who does a bit of strategic policy analysis that this was a promise wrapped in wonder and full of wonder. Imo did not need “free education;” what Ndi Imo needed and still need is “quality education” and there is a material difference in that. Quality education is what prepares people with new sets of skills, expands their horizons, and updates their learning environments in ways that would make them compete with their peers all over the world. 

Besides, Okorocha did not clearly establish how he would pay for the “free education” and the monthly stipend to primary and high school students he had promised. What was Imo state’s tax base? He had no clue. What is the property stock of the schools in the Imo school system? He had no idea? What is the population and distribution of children in early child and Infant programs; the Primary School system, the secondary schools? 

He had no clue. He simply came like Falstaff full of beer and hokum. It was a policy and a program driven by a highly uninformed mindset. A census of schools and of teachers in public schools in Imo state should reveal a number of things: one, the quality and number of teachers in the Imo state’s Public Schools have so radically declined, yet the state government continues to post a high payroll unaccountably.

 But something even more tragic has happened in the five years Rochas Okorocha has been governor in Imo state: it is called the tragic decline of education in Imo state. For all the years WAEC figures, and JAMB results have been published, until three years ago, Imo state had remained consistently on the top with the highest number of student enrollments, often sidelining the next state to it with as much as 100, 000 students. Since Okorocha’s government, Imo has slid to the 8th position on the table! 

This is radical diminution. Not to the second or third positions, but to the 8th position on the list of School certificate enrollment and passes, and on the JAMB scores table, for the first time in its history! Sam Mbakwe used to say that education was Imo’s number one industry. Not anymore. 

Poverty is Imo States number one industry by all accounts these days. Okorocha has achieved the one thing that eluded every of his predecessors however they tried: his government has finally brought a resilient state like Imo to her knees. He has destroyed the school system, and the system of public service on which Imo had established a long tradition. Teachers are not paid. Civil servants are not paid. Retirees are not paid, and yet, no one knows exactly what Imo state’s revenue is used for. Okorocha’s tenure has not registered a single investment in any industry. He has built third-rate roads, and opened up, to be fair, roads that now give people some access in Owerri.

 But the quality of work he has done with these rather basic examples of public work is terrifyingly below standard. In actual fact, some of those are simple municipal roads which a well-organized Public Works Department should do on a routine basis. Now, just last week, reports indicate that the government of Mr. Okorocha has succeeded in evicting retired residents of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education from the Alvan quarters at the famous Shell Camp, and according to Imo Commissioner for Information, the government is putting these government lands and property up for the highest bidders. 

“Anybody who is able to put down N50 million will have any one of these lands” says Vitalis Ajumbe. This is unconscionable, and this must be stopped by all means necessary. The eviction of retires from government quarters, and the sale of public property by this administration to individuals must be counted as one of the highest acts of brazen robbery of the commonweal by official means. Over and over again, Rochas Okorocha has demonstrated that he has no respect for Imo people, he has no regard for the highest public interest, and he has no interest in public opinion. He is playing an endgame with Imo, after which he would retire to Abuja, and let the state and its inhabitants suffocate from the bad effects of his actions today. He may yet force Imo people to rise and do “Otokoto” on its own government, and its government officials! 

Imo people have been pushed to the very end of their wits with this government which last week also announced the reduction of the five-day work week to three days, without annual leaves or sick leaves. This is a terrible policy, and it is really not up to the executive arm to impose this. It requires an act of the Imo state House of Assembly to change the Labor Laws, and the laws governing public service in Imo state, not an executive order. But Imo State has only a “photo Assembly” – legislators who have never sat, or represented the will of the people. As a body it one of the most useless parliaments in the land. It has never held the governors to account. 

Okorocha has committed all kinds of impeachable offences against Imo state, yet the Imo Assembly remains in perpetual vacation. It is now up to Ndi Imo to begin a massive recall process of their legislators who fail to rise in defence of their mandates. The Imo people must rise up and defy this aberration called the government of Imo state, or go to sleep and wait for death itself. Okorocha must account to citizens in Imo: how much of Imo’s revenue went to the campaign to elect Buhari, and what has this governor done with the bail-out money? It is urgent matter.

Imo: Untold Story Of Controversial N3.5 Billion Project

By Mike Ubani, Leadership
Tuesday, November 5, 2013

When he decided to build a 156-room (4 floors) office complex; a skills acquisition centre/automobile/mechanic workshop, and an 88- room hotel complex to be equipped with modern hospitality/training facilities/schools, in Owerri, the Imo state capital, he was propelled by the need to create wealth and reduce the level of unemployment in the state. Beyond that, Governor Rochas Okorocha, unlike his predecessor wanted to leave behind an enduring legacy in the state.  But it appears this vision is fast turning into hallucination.

Reason:  A substantial amount of money initially released by the Imo State government to the contracting firm, Hormipresa Nigeria Limited, to kick-start the projects seem to have vanished into thin air.

According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Hormipresa Nigeria Limited, Mr. Emmanuel Benjamin Emenike, the company received a mobilization fee of about N1 billion from the Imo state government, out of which the sum of N450 million was paid into the Spanish account of a Spaniard and director of the construction company, Mr. Jose Marin Lopez-Pepe, to enable him travel to Spain to purchase some essential equipment for the execution of the projects.

LEADERSHIP learnt that Lopez-Pepe claimed that his bank in Spain seized the money on the basis that its source was suspect.   The bank, according to Lopez-Pepe, however, demanded an authorization from Imo State government, before it could release the money to the Spaniard.

G. I. Ijeom, permanent secretary, Imo State ministry of lands, survey, housing and urban development, in a letter dated May 9, 2013, with reference No. MLSHUD/C/B.1233/T22C, and addressed to the managing director, Banco Sabadel, SA, Spain, urged the bank to release the money to Hormipresa, to ensure the execution of the projects.

“Information reaching us indicates that this said payment is presently trapped in an NIFPS Account No. ES9800810210190001612762, with your bank.

“We are concerned with the slow performance of Hormipresa Nigeria Limited and thus compelled to request your intervention for the release of the said money to enable them continue work in our projects.
“Kindly take necessary steps to ensure immediate repatriation of this money to Hormipresa as appropriate please, the letter reads in part.

Nevertheless, the Spaniard allegedly disappeared, and only reappeared following his arrest in Lagos by the International Police sometime in April, and was handed over to the Imo State Police Command for prosecution.

He was later brought before a Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, to face criminal charges of stealing and obtaining money by false pretence vide suit No. FHC/OW/CS/24C/2013.

The case was later discontinued following an agreement reached between Mr. Emenike and Lopez-Pepe, and signed by both parties to settle the matter out of court. Mr. Tim Ewerem, signed as witness to the Spaniard, while Chief Macdonald Amadi, signed on behalf of the Government of Imo state.

A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding/Peace Accord entered into by both parties, and dated June 24, 2013, reads in part:

“That following the spirit of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Barrister Joseph Nwadike for the prosecution, Barrister Martin Ojenagbon, for the nominal complainant, Barrister Obiefule M. Ogbonna, Barrister Abiodun Oduwole and Barrister David Diya Ashaolu, for the accused person, unanimously consented to the agreement between both parties for out of court settlement.

“That the Police Prosecuting Counsel (Barrister Joseph Nwadike), shall obtain a bankers order and proceed with same to Spain in the company of Emmanuel Benjamin Emenike, and any of Jose Marin Lopez defence counsel, for the verification of Jose Marin Lopez account and repatriation of funds found therein.

“That the passport or any other travelling document of the accused person, Jose Marin Lopez be kept with the police, to restrict the accused from travelling outside Nigeria until all the funds are verified and/or repatriated to Nigeria.

“That all petitions to the EFCC should be withdrawn by a letter addressed to the EFCC and copied to the Imo State Government, and the Police Prosecuting Counsel.

“That a joint -press conference shall be conducted by the parties to clear ambiguities and other misgivings in respect of this matter.

“That upon the signing of this document, Mr. Emmanuel Benjamin Emenike (Hormipresa Nigeria Limited) hereby authorizes the police prosecuting counsel to withdraw/discontinue the prosecution of the criminal charge No. FHC/OW/CS/24C/2013 – The Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Jose Marin-Lopez, pending before the Federal High Court 1, Owerri, in which Mr. Jose Marin Lopez is standing trial as an accused person before the Federal High Court 1, Owerri.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the same N3.5 billion contract being handled by Hormipresa has been cancelled by the Imo State government, and re-awarded to an Italian company.

The new company has already moved to site.  An official of the company, who spoke to LEADERSHIP on telephone, said the company was yet to finalize agreement with the Imo State government to take over the construction of those projects already started by Hormipresa.

When contacted on telephone Sunday night, Chief Amadi who signed the peace accord on behalf of the Imo State government told LEADERSHIP that he was behind the wheels, and therefore, was not in a position to answer any question relating to the controversial project.

However, when LEADERSHIP got him again on telephone yesterday morning, he retorted:  “this is a wrong number”, and switched off.

Meanwhile, the management of Hormopresia strongly believes that  Lopez-Pepe, has fled the country despite the existence of a peace accord stipulating the refund of the money, and restriction order placed on him not to travel out of the country until the money in question was repatriated to the country.

In a letter to the deputy inspector general of police, DIG, ‘D’ Department, Force Criminal Investigation Department, C.I.D. Abuja, dated October 10, 2013, Mr. Emenike called on the police to order the re-arrest of Lopez-Pepe and Mr. Tim  Ewerem, as well as  re-instate the criminal charges against the Spaniard, and “also initiate further action to recover the sum of 1.8 million Euros (about N450 million) paid into Lopez-Pepe’s account in Spain”.

The question on the minds of Owerri people is the rationale behind cancelling the contract, and re-awarding it to another contractor, when issues relating to the initial contract award were yet to be sorted out.

A source close to Government House, Owerri, said the issues would be raised when Governor Okorocha reconstitutes his cabinet, and appoints a new commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Development.

My suspension by APGA is irrelevant, says Okorocha

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha

Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo on Sunday has dismissed his suspension by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) as “irrelevant” and having no consequence.

In a statement on Sunday, the governor urged the people of the state to remain calm and be law-abiding.

“The governor is currently in the U.S. for a town hall meeting, organized by Imo indigenes at Atlanta, Georgia,” his spokesperson, Chinedu Offor, said.

Mr. Okorocha was suspended on Saturday by his party, APGA, over his links with the newly-formed All Progressive Alliance, APC.

The governor has been a leading member of the merger between three opposition parties. His party, has however refused to be part of the coalition.

On Saturday, the National Executive Council of APGA accused Mr. Okorocha of anti-party activities for associating with the APC.

In a communiqué, the NEC unanimously resolved to suspend Mr. Okorocha from the party for anti-party activities, and also announced the dissolution of the State Executive Committee of APGA in Imo state.

In a reaction on Sunday, the All Progressives Congress, APC denounced the suspension as a proof that APGA is planning a merger with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

A statement by APC’s zonal spokesperson Osita Okechuckwu said the the first phase to merge APGA with PDP started with the South East Zonal Rally of the PDP before the 2011 general elections, where APGA publicly declared support for the PDP”.

It said with the exit of Odimegwu Ojukwu, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State commenced the final phase of the merger.

“We regret that APGA national chairman, Victor Umeh, who fought gallantly against this unholy merger, capitulated lately,” the statement said.

The party said it is the considered view of APC South East Zone that 14 years of PDP leadership had yielded no fruit for the south east.

“In 1999, PDP promised and repeatedly before 2003, 2007, 2011 elections the dualization of Abakaliki-Enugu, Abia-Akwa-Ibom, Kogi-Anambra, reconstruction of Port Harcourt-Enugu, Onitsha-Enugu roads, Enugu Coal-Fired-Plant, 2nd Niger Bridge, Onistsha Port etc. The rest they say is history, as we are yet to see any ship berthing at the Onitsha Sea Port launched with fanfare by President Goodluck Jonathan nor where the second Niger bridge is located in any federal budget. What we saw is patching of roads,” it said.

It also said to worsen matters President Jonathan whom Ndigbo took as their own and voted massively for; “could not find it worthy to assign Ndigbo to any of the four top protocol list – president, vice president, senate president and speaker.

“Handy with these PDP failed promises, Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Dr Ogbonniya Onu, Senator Chris Ngige and other eminent sons of Ndigbo said-Enough is Enough- and joined APC.

“In sum, we urge Ndigbo to join the APC enmasse to provide critical infrastructure for the industrialization of Nigeria and sweep away the impression that we are only interested in sharing money,” the statement said.

--------------Premium Times Nigeria

Nigeria: Imo State Begins Construction Of Marine University

The government of Imo state has commenced the construction of the first ever Marine University in Africa at Ose-Moto, Oguta local government area of the state.

The state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha who addressed newsmen shortly after inspecting the site, said that with the issue land now settled, work would soon commence. Governor Okorocha said that the university will be the first of its kind in Africa and would be of benefit to the community, Imo state and by extension Nigeria.

The Governor revealed that the first phase of the project will cost about N2.5 Billion which include the construction of the perimeter fence, landscaping, administrative blocks, class rooms and hostels.

He also said that Imo State Oil Producing Development Commission (ISOPADEC) that is funding the project has enough funds in its coffers to complete the project, assuring that the university will be ready to admit its first set of students in the next two years.

The governor further explained that the state government is collaborating with Korean Marine University after ISOPADEC board visited institution to understudy its programmes.

Governor Okorocha commended people of Ose-Moto community for donating their land for the university close to the river and the site of federal government sea port and a naval base project which he noted would be of great advantage to the institution.

Also speaking, Dr. Henry Uzor Okafor, the Managing Director of ISOPADEC, collaborated that the commission has financial capacity to complete the first phase of the project which would cost about N2.5 Billion in a swoop.

He expressed appreciation to the governor for giving approval of the site stressing that Ose-Moto people are eager to see the project succeed having donated their land for the university and to the
federal government for the naval base and sea port.

He averred that the project, when completed will benefit the oil producing areas of Ohaji Egbema and Oguta LGA in areas of employment as well as provide opportunities for the youths in the area to acquire university education that can guarantee them employment in the oil companies that operate in the state.

Mbisike N.C
Government House Press
June 17, 2013

My Story On N458M Bribery –Agbaso, Imo Dep Gov

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE CASE OF IMO STATE

Imo State Dep. Gov. Jude Agbaso

By Wale Igbintade,

 MARCH 28. 2013

OWERRI (NATIONAL MIRROR)--Imo State Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso is facing impeachment over an allegation bordering on receiving N458 million bribery. In this interview with WALE IGBINTADE, he tells his story.

Excerpts:

You have been accused of receiving N458 million from JPros Nigeria Ltd, a contractor, as kickback. What is your take on this issue?

The barrage of misinformation that is being fed members of the public, especially concerning the allegation that I received bribe money from the contractor, JPros Nigeria Ltd, has become important that I must continue to state my innocence.

It is in the public domain now all over the country that I received bribe money from JPros Nigeria Ltd to the tune of N458m. That is not true. I state in the clearest of terms that I never solicited for such payment from JPros Nig. Ltd or any contractor. Never at any time did I receive any such money or any amount of money from any contractor whatsoever. I will continue state this clearly so that our people will understand my innocence.

If you’re claiming innocence, how come the Imo State House of Assembly has commenced impeachment proceeding against you?

Let me take your mind back to the issues in question. The issues that have agitated my mind are the questions of how I or anybody could pay N458m to a man who did him no favour or service.

The contract in question that JPros Nigeria Ltd is executing in Imo State was approved by the Executive Governor of Imo State. It was really negotiated by the Executive Governor of Imo State, my boss, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. While the approval was sought and given, I wasn’t really in the country. When the approval was given, the principal secretary to my governor conveyed the direct approval of the contract and payment of the sum of N1.151 billion to the Commissioner for Finance, who directed the Accountant General to make payment. However, the normal process was when such approvals are made; the money should be paid into the coffers of the State’s Ministry of Works where due processes are now applied.

Certificates will be raised based on the vouchers, then application will be made for payments to the contractor instead of what transpired in February of last year when wholesale payment of the entire 100 per cent, representing the cost and value of the contract was paid out directly to the contractor. I am not the commissioner, who caused that payment to happen. I am not the Accountant General who made the payment directly to the contractor. I am not the Accountant General who paid on verbal instruction of the governor to the contractor. I was then, the commissioner for Works and deputy governor who wrote the contract ab initio for N1.151 billion, and never at anytime did I cause this 100 per cent payment or any payment to be made. I only found out that payment had been made to the contractor, four months after the payment had been made.

Also, recall that before the payment of N1.15 billion was made to JPros Nigeria Ltd that a payment of N200 million had been made to the same contractor from the Government House. I did not approve the payment of the N200 million. The payment of the N200 million never came to the Ministry of Works and did not receive my approval. My question is this: for a man who has access to the governor, Commissioner of Finance, Accountant General of the state who paid him directly; why would he pay me N458 million which represents a 46 per cent of the total contract sum.

You and the contractor appeared before a committee set up by the Imo State House of Assembly. What exactly transpired during the hearing?

When this man (contractor) was asked why he paid me such huge amount of money, he said because I promised to give him jobs in the local governments – 15 kilometres of road construction in the local government. In Imo State, the local government’s roads – rural roads – are built at N60 million per kilometre. But suffice to say that the local government jobs are not awarded by the local government chairman or can be influenced by the Commissioner for Local Government but by the governor who has sweeping influence over this.

But in the case of Imo State in particular, it is common knowledge how this contracts were awarded; that then I, as the deputy governor or as the then commissioner for Works had no influence whatsoever, in the giving out of local government jobs. How could somebody now give me almost half a billion naira claiming that I would influence the award and payment of a job?

So, why do you think they want you impeached?

It truly agitates my mind that these spurious allegations are continually being brought to public consciousness in the print media; in the electronic media day after day. Recently, the state Commissioner for Information on television implied that I cajoled the governor into approving the payment to JPros Nigeria Ltd. Everybody understands that I have a cordial and brotherly relationship with the governor, but the business of the state is the business of the state and due processes are due processes.

There are ways and means contracts are meant to be negotiated and awarded. If the establishment in Imo State chooses to do it differently; where the governor makes the approval differently, I cannot control. But I never went to the governor like he implied that I cajoled him into signing on the dotted lines, for him to sign for the approval the payment to JPros Nigeria Ltd. It is laughable. It’s truly laughable.

You were also accused of collecting a bottle of Blue Label Whiskey from the contractor.

Yes, there is the issue I heard today that Joseph Dina of JPros Nigeria Ltd gave me a bottle of Blue Label Whiskey. JPros had absconded from the site. He was sought after. The Ministry of Works called him on the phone repeatedly and we were continually informed that he had travelled out of the country and I had informed them to tell his people that as soon as he got back to site, to report to the Ministry of Works to make sure that proper work was done on site. When he came back to Imo State, he reported to the ministry to tell me that he had just come back from wherever he went to and I said okay, if you are back, go back to the site. Probably to prove his point, he said he bought me a bottle of Blue Label Whiskey and that he wanted to give it to me and said he didn’t have it here.

He said he was going to come to my house later in the evening to give me the whiskey and I said fine, but just go back to the site. He came that evening, saw me at home with everybody and gave me the bottle of whiskey and left.

By the time this happened, he had got his contract approval; his money had been paid by the various authorities. How does a bottle of whiskey tie into the N1.15 billion that he had been paid then? How does a bottle of Blue Label Whiskey tie into an over payment of N200 million that I was not party to? Who should be answering questions about who received what? Fellow Nigerians, is it important that the people who facilitated this huge payment, this non-adherence to due process, should be answering the questions I’m answering today?

The contractor further alleged that he communicated with you through SMS on the payment of the N458m. Is that true?

The man said he communicated to me through text message. In the text message I purportedly sent to his phone number, that I instructed him to pay the companies he mentioned – Three Brothers and one other company – the sums of money. But, I maintain that I never communicated through text message, instructing this man to pay a company through any account number, any sum of money to any bank and he told the committee in question that he was going to bring the text messages that I sent him, that he was going to send for his MTN line call log and details.

I also told the committee that I will also provide my MTN call log and details. The next day, I applied through the Director of SSS for my call log at the MTN detailing SMS messages for the month of February in question and the month of June 2012. But, the committee now has gone to town to spread these falsehoods that they had judged me, that they had brought me to book, that what is left is for them to jail me. They have accused me, sat over my case, passed judgement based on the hearsay of Joseph Dina of JPros Ltd who merely said that he gave me money and there was no iota of truth that I did communicate with him through text messages detailing him to pay amounts of money into these accounts or the companies he mentioned.

But, my argument is that these companies are limited liability companies in Nigeria, that the Corporate Affairs Commission has information as to the promoters, the owners, and the directors of these companies. Those pieces of information are accessible by members of the public, but more importantly by criminal investigations agencies – the Police, the SSS, the EFCC, and the ICPC. Such information can be sought to determine if there is a nexus or connection between these companies and my person directly or indirectly. Also, the text messages that I have mentioned can also be accessed through MTN.

Also, I had said earlier that N458m is awesome amount of money; it cannot vanish into thin air. If this money was paid by Joseph Dina into those accounts, those accounts should be accessed through the banks. In establishing those accounts, the owners and the promoters of the companies must have given information to the bank to enable them set up these accounts. Photographs of those who set up these accounts are there. Signatories to these accounts would be there. These are pieces of information the various agencies can seek for and access, even members of the public if they choose to. Such options should have been fully exhausted by my accusers and judges.

What is the way out?

I implore Nigerians to understand and appreciate the grand conspiracy to tarnish my image; which is all I have; which is all I have worked for. I have said at various gatherings in Imo State that I am not a politician; I merely came to serve the people and all I have done is to have a good relationship with the Executive Governor of Imo State – a brotherly relationship, serve the people of Imo State, serve the governor diligently. I have put in 14 to 16-hour daily to make sure that the dividends of democracy get to my people. I have spoken out to make sure that due process is followed, if they are not followed, it wouldn’t be my fault.

When the governor made the discovery that an over payment of N200 million had been made to the contractor, I was there in his office when he shouted it. I said my boss, if there has been an over payment, then you will understand how important it is that payments should be made through the proper channels. If these payments were made through the Ministry of Works or any ministry responsible for any contracts, overpayments would not be made. If due processes was followed, wholesale 100 per cent payment of contracts would not be made. I hear that the committee investigating me is investigating the immediate and remote causes of the abandonment of contracts in Imo State; chief among them was the contract by JPros Nigeria Ltd.

Now, it is public information that the contractor had been paid N1.35 billion. It is also public information supplied by Imo State Ministry of Works on certification that the quantum of job accomplished by this contractor is N195 million. Yet, the contractor, just received a thank you and he was left off the hook. The police are not holding him; he is not answering for the money unaccounted for in excess of N600 million and they are telling me that they are trying me and trying to impeach me for receiving bribe money of N458 million. It is utterly laughable. Unfortunately, it is not a situation you can laugh over. I will continue to talk to you that I am an innocent man. The appropriate investigation agencies must wade into this matter and my innocence must be proven.

Council Bosses Ask EFCC To Probe Okorocha

Local council bosses in Imo State have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Governor Rochas Okorocha for alleged abuse of the state treasury.

The Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGON), Imo State Chapter, in the petition forwarded by their lawyer, Cyprain Akaolisa, to the anti graft agency, accused the governor of "criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, stealing, misappropriation of public funds and financial rot".

ALGON alleges that contracts are awarded in the state without required and wondered why a 3-kilometre road was billed to be constructed with N1.2 billion.

The local council leaders are also asking the EFCC to get the state government to account for the N13.3 billion bond proceeds left by the past administration of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim.

..........Nnamdi Ogwazu, Daily Times Nigeria, Saturday, March 16, 2013

NIGERIA: Okorocha calls for military discipline in politics

OWERRI—Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has called for strict military discipline in the nation’s democratic system to enable the country move forward.

Okorocha, who made the call when he played host to officers of the Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, at Government House, Owerri, also noted that lack of discipline had hindered progress and development in the country.

He said discipline should be introduced a s a subject in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the country, adding that it will go a long way in introducing sanity in the polity.

Speaking earlier, leader of the delegation and Director, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Major General John Kwabe, explained the the purpose of their visit was to look into some critical issues, such as national economy, integration, food security and youth development.

------CHIDI NKWOPARA/VANGUARD 

Council chiefs protest Okorocha’s alleged constitution’s violation on tenure

THE embattled 27 council chairmen under the aegis of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Imo State branch, all elected under the auspices of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday took over major streets in Owerri, the state capital, protesting what they called a violation of the Constitution of Nigeria by the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, who they accused of withholding councils’ allocations.

But in a swift reaction the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Soronnadi Njoku, dismissed the protesters’ argument, saying that the state government was ruling in accordance with the constitution.

Okorocha, had a few days on assumption of office in 2011, dissolved the council chiefs, a decision that was challenged by the council chairmen. They approached the Court of Appeal where they won, having been dissatisfied with the ruling of the lower court.

The Attorney General argued that the protest was uncalled for because the council chiefs’ tenure had expired after two years.

According to him: “ What they are doing is childish and emotive. They should give instances and specifics. We are still in compliance to what the court ruled that no tenure elongation for them. They had statutory period of two years. How can you reconcile that? Their tenure expired April last year. After two years, what are they doing there?”

The protesters, carrying placards, with the inscription, “Okorocha has no respect for the constitution”, “Okorocha should be cautioned. Enough of meddling in the affairs of the councils in the state,” among others marched through Okigwe, Wetherdal and Government point /Okigwe Roundabout, obstructing vehicular and human traffic as they pressed home their point.

The chairmen who were reinstated by the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri last year have Mrs. Rubby Emele and Enyinnaya Onumegbu as chairman and Secretary respectively.
Okorocha, elected under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was said to be away, attending the traditional wedding of his daughter, Uloma, in his Ogboko country home, when the protest was going on. Security operatives however prevented the aggrieved protesters from entering the Government House.

Okorocha had on the New Year ’s Day, warned the council chiefs to stop parading themselves as council chairmen since their tenure of two years had expired, adding that any one who does that would be treated as an impersonator. The state government through the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) fixed the council polls for later this year.

Not comfortable with the pronouncement, Onuegbu appeared on a radio programme cataloguing what he alleged were the interferences of the governor in their affairs, despite the fact that the matter of tenure of their office was still in the court.

The ALGON secretary alleged that Okorocha was diverting allocations meant for the council to the state purse, thereby stifling development in the rural areas in the state. He regretted that all the reinstated council chiefs were running the councils with their personal money, adding that all efforts made to make the governor to re-trace his decision had met with stonewall. He said the position of the state’s ALGON was that the Federal Government should stop routing councils’ allocation through the state government.

In his reaction, the state’s PDP chairman, Chief Eze Duruiheoma (SAN), said the protest was purely of ALGON affair, adding that the party had no hand

......CHARLES OGUGBUAJA, OWERRI/GUARDIAN

Nigeria: Gov. Okorocha Budgets N197 Billion For 2013

Governor of Nigeria’s eastern state of Imo, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has presented in Owerri a budget proposal of N197,743,684,031 to the State House of Assembly for the 2013 fiscal year.

The amount represents 34.4 per cent recurrent expenditure or N63,550,209,564 and 67.53 per cent capital expenditure which represents N132,183,474,467. An estimated revenue projection from recurrent sources for the year and capital receipt stand at N93,889,888,530 and N101,853,795,501 respectively.

In the budget christened ‘Rescue Budget 2′, Gov. Okorocha said an expenditure of N59,171,065,600 representing 47.29 per cent of the total capital receipt will be allocated to the economic sector which comprises agriculture, petroleum and environment, housing, lands, commerce and industry, works, transport, public utilities and rural development.

The governor explained that the 2013 budget is anchored on the 2012-2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework otherwise known as Imo Rescue Development Plan earlier approved by the state house of assembly as the capital allocations and projects in the budget remain part of the entire package.

He maintained that government would pursue policies and programmes aimed at revamping the agricultural sector after several decades of negligence to ensure that Imo contributes to Nigeria’s food security agenda, adding such step will lead to an increased productivity in the areas of rice, livestock, fish, vegetable and fruits, poultry, cassava and oil pal production.

Governor Okorocha also projected a grant $2.3m equivalent to N378,958,400 that will be attracted within the year under the United Nations Development Assistant Framework (UNDAF 11) Plan while 1000 of housing units of various categories will be constructed to address the housing needs of Imo citizens.

He said that government will partner effectively with a foreign company to build a per-cast concrete factory while vocational centers will be established in Orlu and Okigwe for artisans.

In the transport and aviation sector, Gov. Okorocha said his administration would continue to explore the possibility of setting up an airline in partnership with private sector with new commuter buses and cars purchased to complement the services of Imo Transport Company (ITC) and Imo Municipal Transport Services (IMTS).

He added that all the ongoing road projects will be completed in 2013, purchase new road construction equipment to reinforce the technical capacity of the work ministry, procure four new fire fighting engines for the three zones of the state and government house, install micro water schemes for regular water supply, establish Fire Training School and new fire station in Owerri.

In the education sector, Gov. Okorocha said beyond implementing the free and qualitative education programme at primary, secondary and tertiary level, government would provide technical equipment for full accreditation of the four technical colleges in the state and complete ongoing construction and renovation projects in primary and secondary schools.

Other major highlights of the Rescue Budget 2 include the completion and equipping the ultra-modern diagnostic dialysis center and the 27 new general hospitals under construction, sustain and consolidate the gains of the health-at-your-doorstep programme to reduce common health conditions, continue the effort towards developing pharmaceutical warehouse, construct a new house of assembly complex that will be equipped with e-library, Internet facilities and general networking system and complete the Orlu and Okigwe ultra-modern stadia.

.....PM NEWS

Gov. Okorocha Orders Closure Of Nudity Clubs In Imo

Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo has ordered the immediate closure of nudity clubs in the state, describing their existence as ``strange and devilish’’.

Okorocha, who gave the order in Owerri on Wednesday at the end of the meeting of the state Security Council, said that the operation of nudity clubs debased Igbo culture.

He said that such clubs had compounded the eroding morality of the youths and warned that the government would no longer condone their destructive activities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many nudity clubs are operating in the state capital.

The governor also banned under-age persons would henceforth be barred from attending night clubs in the state and warned that any club found admitting such persons or selling alcoholic drinks to them would be closed down permanently.

The governor also ordered the demolition of a house in Oru East Local Government Area and a filling station in Mbaitoli Local Government Area allegedly owned by kidnappers.

Okorocha warned that government was determined to stamp out kidnapping in the state.

He also warned owners of uncompleted buildings in the state to clean and secure them to avoid their being used as hideouts by criminals.

The governor decried the upsurge of secret cults in some secondary schools in the state and warned student cult members that government was poised to deal with them.

He expressed concern over the increase in child trafficking in the state and said that government had taken steps with the security agencies to check the trend.

......LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER

Rochas Okorocha Founds A Tuition Free University

Rochas Okorocha University: The Governor of Imo State, Nigeria, Rochas Okorocha, who chairs The Rochas Foundation has founded a tuition free university that would take off within range. Okorocha disclosed this in Abuja during activities co mmemorating his 50th birthday and the 10th anniversary of the Rochas Secondary Schools across the country which are tuition free. The Director-General of the foundation and daughter of the governor, Uloma Okorocha also added that "the university which would only be for students from poor family backgrounds would have a touch that would compete favorably with other universities in the world," stating it would be a Western standard institution of higher learning. Foundation of the university has already been laid at Ogboko, Imo State, according to the governor. Rochas' five tuition free secondary schools are located in Ogboko, Owerri, Ibadan, Jos and Kano.

(Imo-Nigeria): Why Rochas Is Buying 1 Million Shoes - Duruji

A VANGUARD INTERVIEW

The Imo State Commissioner for Information, Barrister Obinna Duruji at a parley with newsmen spoke on the strides, successes and challenges of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. He also spoke on issues emanating from the Governor’s recent victory at the Court of Appeal. Excerpts:

EIght months in office, what can you say are the attainments of the administration?

The governor on assumption of office declared free and compulsory education in both primary and secondary levels in Imo State which PDP and Ohakim told Imo people was impossible, placement of order to procure one million school sandals and ordered procurement of 600,000 school bags and desks to boost free education in Imo State.

The governor also ordered the payment of backlog of pension arrears owed for over 12 years by the past administrations, establishment of Imo Pension/Senior Citizens’ Club and donation of vehicles to the club, release of N450 million bailout fund to missionary schools in Imo State, increase of government monthly subvention to IMSU from N57m to N100m, revival of the Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH) abandoned by Ohakim’s administration.

Community speakers

He introduced fourth tier Government and appointment of community speakers, which have brought governance closer to the grassroots, reformation of the vigilante outfits by restricting their operations in the communities rather than using them to fight political opponents, establishment of General Security Council and Local Government Security Council and Local Government Security Council in the 27 LGAs, reconstruction of Commissioners’ Quarters abandoned by Ohakim’s administration.

Reconstruction of ALGON and Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers Secretariats, construction of 405 rural roads at 15km per L.G.A, introduction of Health-at-your-door-steps programme in Imo State, the first of its kind in Africa, upgrading of Umuguma General Hospital to a Specialist Hospital, reformation of the State Civil Service Local Government System, blockage of revenue leakages thus saving billions of naira for capital projects in Imo State, construction of International Conference Centre at Oguta Blue Lake of Treasure (formerly known as Oguta Wonder Lake).

It is worthy of note that the Oguta Wonder Lake project only existed in the internet during Ohakim’s regime. These are some of the tremendous achievements of His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha in less than one year of his administration, which is an eloquent testimony that Imo Rescue Mission has come to stay.

The last administration of Governor Ikedi Ohakim took N18.5b bond from the Stock Market. What does the current administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha intend to do with the bond?

Government is a continuum. We are going to redirect the bond and ensure that it is used for meaningful development projects.

The bond was to be used for the rehabilitation of the Imo state water scheme, rehabilitation and construction of major roads, financing the Imo State government’s equity investment in Imo Wonder Lake and conference centre in Oguta. Okorocha’s administration has started work in all these areas and that’s why I said government is continuum.

There were speculations that APGA was responsible for the transfer of the governorship election tribunal to Abuja. Is this true?

No, we are a responsible government and our priority and focus is the delivery of dividends of democracy. You can see that even on the day of the tribunal verdict on the 12th of November, 2011; the governor was not bothered; he was driving his government bus to various sites inspecting projects.

I was shocked when I came from the tribunal and I saw him at the gate of the Government House in shorts, addressing the crowd and I was curious and I said your excellency are you addressing Imo citizens on shorts, he said it doesn’t matter and that he was coming from the project sites.

So that’s how unruffled he is. His mandate was ordained by God and delivered on the planet earth. It is not our own making. Imo citizens for the first time expressed their wishes and aspirations in the mandate delivered to the Governor.

It was not their making, it was ordained in heaven. So what we saw on earth was the manifestation of the heavenly intervention. So, the governor is loved by his people and those who came to the court were there to show their solidarity to the mandate they gave to him. Neither our party APGA nor government influenced the move to Abuja.

The governor is accused of formulating policies in the state without due process; they cited as example the creation of community speakers without the input of the house of assembly. What is your reaction to this?

He didn’t have to. What people don’t understand is that the only constant thing in life is change. This is a man who is a change agent; he is a catalyst, a facilitator for change and development. He is not going to be held hostage by protocol and mundane understanding of the rule of law.

Law trails development, development does not trail laws unnecessarily, and law trails development all over the world. I am a senior advocate in the Unites States and I do know that law follows development, development does not follow law; otherwise society will not move forward.

As events are happening, law catches up, you don’t wait to make the law for the average human thinking before you can implement, it is only as you evolve that the law trails behind, and all over the world, the due process is a twin sister or brother of democracy.

So the two are not mutually exclusive, they are mutually inclusive. Once you see democracy, the government of the people, for the people and by the people, you are talking about rule of law.

So once he envisions, he conceptualizes and then the legal process takes place. If he does not envision, conceptualize, articulate the polices before the implementation, how can the Legislative house formulate. The House formulates based on the fine prints of articulation of the policies and programmes that emanate from the executive arm whenever necessary.

It is only then that the policy is transmitted to the house for articulation of an enabling law. It cannot be the other way round; otherwise the House will be dictating to the executive. So there is no violation of the rule of law, I challenge any opponent of this administration to come up with a clear indication of where we have violated the law.

Imo indigenes sacked in Abia. Why is the problem still lingering?

Well it is not an Imo problem; it is the South East problem as a matter of fact. But the issue is still pending before the South East Governor’s Forum. So Governor Okorocha has advised us to be cautious in our approach, that dialogue will be a better approach to resolve the quagmire and as obedient servants we so obliged.

Cushioning of effects of the sack

He has also cushioned the effects of the sack, which is our major concern and apprehension about the fate of the Imo indigenes, by assuring us in no mistaken terms that at the appropriate time, if the obnoxious decision is not rescinded, that Imo citizens would be absorbed in the Imo workforce. So that is the last resort and that’s by way of assurance.

What is your reaction to Court of Appeal decision?

Owelle’s victory at the Court of Appeal recently in Abuja is a further manifestation of its divine origin and a revalidation of Imo people’s mandate. The judgment has also rekindled our faith and confidence in the Nigerian judiciary. Imo people applaud the judges for remaining resolute in their determination to uphold Imo people’s mandate despite pressure to the contrary.

Given the wisdom of the tribunal and court of appeal, we are confident that the dismissal will stand Supreme Court scrutiny. To God be the glory.