From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha has described as deceitful , afterthought and belated a court order on Wednesday forfeiting his property to the State government .
Okorocha in a statement by his special adviser on media, Sam Onwuemeodo added that the action of the State government has further buttressed his earlier claim that governor Hope Uzodimma is playing a double standard caused by envy and personal vendetta.
Okorocha pointed out that while applying for an Interim Order of forfeiture last Wednesday, the State government never talked about the distortion of the Owerri Master plan again.
He said “They talked about illegally acquired properties. This is why the order is an afterthought, belated and deceitful. And with this Court order after they had invaded, looted and destroyed the properties in question leveraging on the Whitepaper, it only showed that they had acted wrongly, arbitrarily and unlawfully right from the outset.”
Okorocha continued “Let us first and foremost, describe the Interim Order of forfeiture as belated, an after-thought and deceitful. It has further exposed the double-standard of what we have in Imo today as a State Government.
“And equally strengthened our Consistent claim that, what is happening in Imo is a clear Case of Vendetta, envy, hatred and Conspiracy by the State government against Okorocha and his family.
“On Monday, February 22, 2021, a day after the Royal Palm Hotel incident, the governor, Chief Uzodinma met with President Mohammed Buhari. After the meeting, he met with the State House Correspondents. While briefing them, he said that Okorocha distorted the Owerri Master plan with the Royal Palm Hotel. He also talked about the mystery Whitepaper as the tool on which they had relied on to invade and loot Okorocha’s properties.
“The same Monday, the Commissioner for Lands, Chief Enyinnaya Onuegbu also told the world, while on Channels Television that the Royal Palm Hotel distorted the Owerri Master plan. While the fence and gate of the Reach FM Radio were pulled down because they blocked the road.
“In other words, Governor Uzodinma had admitted that he had acted earlier without the needed Court Order. It also proved that before the Court Order, they had acted arbitrarily. They have accepted too that they needed the Court Order and not the whitepaper, to do all they had done. Okorocha claimed.
Also, Okorocha claimed that Governor Uzodinma’s government also deceived the Court to give them an Order of interim forfeiture because according to him “they never let the Judge know that there has been an existing and valid High Court Judgement on the properties.
” In Suit No: HOW/947/2019, Hon. Justice T.N. Nzeukwu gave Judgement on these Properties on Monday, September 7, 2020. We are not talking about Interim Order, but Judgement. And after looking at the facts on ground, restrained the State Government and its agents over these Properties.
Further Okorocha claimed that there is also a reason governor Uzodinma’s government cannot make public the panels’ reports and the so-called Whitepaper.
“The fact is that, the government has characteristically doctored, to a very large extent, the Panels’ reports and has produced COVID-19 infested Whitepaper on them. We have been hearing about the Whitepaper, but nobody has seen a Copy. The government in Imo is strange and has continued to act strangely. Let them publish verbatim, the Panels’ reports and the Whitepaper, for all men and women of goodwill to see.
“It is also interesting to note that, out of the ten properties they applied for forfeiture, only two, the Eastern Palm University and Royal Palm Hotel could be said to be the real properties. The rest are mostly Schools running free education, with most of the Students being indigent Children. Then, the follow up question would be, where are the much talked about illegally acquired properties by Okorocha and family.
“Finally, we want to assure all and sundry that, governor Uzodinma cannot win this war of attrition he has launched against Okorocha, because, before God and before man, truth is Sacred, while falsehood is a profane. Truth lives, while falsehood dies within a very short period.” Okorocha said.