Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Governor Rochas Okorocha has appealed to the incoming government of Emeka Ihedioha to sustain his free education policy for students and pupils in the state.
According to the governor , free education represents an indirect empowerment to the widows and poor in the state.
“My appeal has remained that there are certain things I would want to remain continued. One of them is the free education. I want to appeal to the in-coming government in the name of God not to stop free education in this land. Free education represents our indirect empowerment to the widows and the poor in the society. Free education helps children who cannot afford School fees. Free education has helped wipe away the tears of suffering widows,
“Free education must never be allowed to stop in this land and if that stops, criminal activities will come back again in geometrical progression and crime rate will rise, and that would not be good for the State. If they do not know how to do it, I will offer my services free of charge to be sure that free education continues in Imo State. And for the peace we are enjoying now to continue, the youths must continue to be made useful”. Governor Okorocha stated.
Besides his free education, governor Okorocha also appealed to the incoming government to sustain all his projects.
“Another appeal is that all these over 1000 projects I have given to the people of Imo State, the highest in the history of this State, those things must be kept alive and made to continue. When I see these, I would be the happiest former governor of Imo State,” Okorocha added.
Governor Okorocha who made the appeal when the new management of the Imo International Cargo Airport led by Mrs Rejoice Ndudinachi paid a courtesy call at the weekend also said “You can see that since we assumed office in 2011, the story of Imo Airport has changed. We used to have one flight per day when I came in but today, the passenger in-flow and out-flow in Owerri Airport is probably the highest in the South-East. And this is because of the developmental strides we have introduced in Imo State,
“I intend to write a book one day to explain to the people of Nigeria and Imo State in particular the vision with which I governed this State. If you should notice, I have opened up Owerri. Owerri is so opened up with road networks everywhere. There are more developments now in Owerri than it has ever been. Security is better. So when I said Imo must be better, I meant my words abinitio. In security, Imo is better than it has ever been. The issue of kidnapping is gone,” he Stated.
The governor further explained “In terms of infrastructural development, Imo is better. In terms of workers welfare, Imo is better. In terms of health, Imo is better. In terms of education, Imo is better. So Imo is better in all wings. The secret to all these is that we thought outside the box and being able to do things different from the conventional ways of doing things. This is the result of what you are seeing. We were never hard on the people. Infact, Imo State is the place you could come and not pay tax before getting your building on.
“So, I’m leaving a better Imo than I met it. The idea of the Imo International Airport was to connect Imo State to the rest of the world. When the business starts, it would be perhaps one of the greatest legacy Rescue Mission has left for generations yet unborn. The governor said.
In her speech earlier, the new Airport Manager, Mrs. Ndudinachi said she was happy with what she saw at the Cargo terminal and assured that she would work hard to maintain the Airport to International Standard. She commended the governor for making the airport an International Cargo airport.