From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Former Imo Governor, Rochas Okorocha has claimed that those who gathered at Obi Ndi Eze, Owerri at the weekend and mandated Governor Hope Uzodimma to recover properties and monies allegedly looted by his predecessors were not stakeholders in the state, but factionalised members of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Okorocha in a statement by his special adviser on media, Sam Onwuemeodo, also described the gathering as an assemblage of desperate politicians seeking for appointments.
He said a stakeholders meeting would not have held in Imo, yet out of the five governors that had governed the state, only one, Chief Ikedi Ohakim was present.
He said no Senator, House of Representatives member from the state, past or present, since 1999 was present at the meeting. “No Speaker, except the one who is also a member of his own faction of APC.,House of Assembly members, present and former, were not there, except the current Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly who defected to the governor’s own faction of APC.
“If the stakeholders of Imo State were there, they would have asked the governor to tell them what he had done with about N60billion loan, N56billion federal allocation, N8billion ISOPADEC fund, N42billion local governments’ funds, IGR of N69billion and billions from donor agencies. They would have tried to find out what the governor has done with these billions. But the factional APC members only abused Okorocha and left with their fuel or transport money. Real stakeholders would have asked why the governor has not paid workers, teachers and pensioners for more than 12months or why he sacked 108 ISOPADEC workers.
“With the much orchestrated stories of recovery, the governor has only embarked on blackmail trip and vendetta against Okorocha, otherwise the petitions for which EFCC and ICPC investigated Okorocha and the matters are in court, were written by the State Government. Then, why not wait until the courts find Okorocha guilty. Why the hurry? Sooner than later, the reason for this needless vendetta against Okorocha which is bound to fail, would manifest.”