Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has emphasised that security is very dear to the Federal government, adding that it  should not be left alone for the government to deal with, just as he commended Governor Rochas Okorocha for his contributions to security matters.

The president who was represented by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, stated this while commissioning the ultra-modern police headquarters and prisons headquarters built by Governor Okorocha in Owerri on Thursday. He stressed that the issue of security should be the concern of every patriotic Nigerian.

He said: “Let me on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari congratulate Governor Rochas Okorocha for his support to the Federal Government of Nigeria in its efforts at handling the Criminal Justice System. The governor’s role in the area of security speaks volume. You have done well.”

In his speech, Governor Okorocha expressed regret over the activities of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), in the state, stating that the commission had not been fair to the state; he lamented that no activity again was going on in the state owing largely to the commission’s conduct.

 “One of the things EFCC is investigating is the N500million paid to school children across the state as stipends. That made the EFCC to close down the account of Imo State for the past three months. And no activity is going on in the state again. I think it is not very fair for a state that has performed very well and has also performed to uplift the name of APC beyond doubt.”

He continued; “I have done my party proud but what I get at the end of it all is seizure of my Certificate of Return and harassment by the EFCC. It does not give me joy. EFCC should come to the state and assess all the projects executed by his administration rather than this unnecessary harassment.”

The governor added: “In this state, education is free from primary through secondary to university levels. Though understandably, education is free at primary level, but here we provide them with uniforms, lockers, chairs, shoes and even stipends.”