The announcement by the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha, that he will re-contest his position in the 2015 general election generated several headlines and commentaries. Okorocha’s declaration to contest the next election is in total negation of his position before assumption of office in 2011. At the 2011 Governor’s Debate at the Assumpta Cathedral, Okorocha had promised Imolites that he would be in office for four years.
Now he is recontesting.That is Governor Okorocha for you, a political chameleon. I once wrote articles were i stated why he should resign as Imo Governor. To me, Okorocha worships power with his whole body, his whole heart, his whole spirit and, in fact, his whole being. For him, nothing is too small or too great to do to acquire power and flaunt it. His love of publicity is part of his endless scheming for power. Once he grabs it, he immediately and unceremoniously abandons all who helped him.
Honestly, when Okorocha became governor of Imo State he turned to something else. He went about telling Imo people lies upon lies, defending his failures and deceits with pride. The first thing that he did when he came into power was to loot N26.27billion naira left behind by former Governor Ikedi Ohakim. The Second thing that he did was to borrow n45billion naira and n28billion naira loans from banks with Imo LGA allocations as collateral for three years, the money which he squandered. Okorocha is just a political opportunist looting Imo state dry . He does not have the passion to do things for the people . He never had . He’s a stone-cold unapologetic ambitious man who is milking Imo state to finish.
There are many reasons why he does not deserve re-election. There are millions of voters in Imo State who are waiting to kick him out in 2015. Anglicans and Catholics will never vote for him again. I doff my hat and salute the Christians in Imo State, who stood by unborn children whose death warrant Governor Rochas Okorocha and his cohorts assented to. It is disheartening to see a governor legalize abortion in his state.
Imo youths cannot vote for him again .He has failed to give them jobs. The 10,000 legally employed Imo civil servants that he unjustly sacked in 2011 and their families and friends of their families, workers of Imo State origin too who were sacked in the Abia State civil service for two years now that he has done nothing to alleviate their suffering despite their entreaties will not vote for him again. Imo Civil servants that he has refused to pay the 18,000 naira minimum wage will also not vote for him again.
Instead of sitting down in Owerri and create jobs for Imo Youths, Okorocha is spending millions of naira junketing the globe and entertaining his friends and political associates in Nigeria and abroad leaving Imo State youths without jobs. If Okorocha is not in Kaduna attending meetings with some Boko Haram Governors he will be in Ibadan hosting birthday parties or he is in USA meeting his fleshy needs, things that has little to do with Imo state administration. The only sign of youth employment in Imo is the blaring of siren by the governor’s children, his maids, his in-laws and few hangers on who feed fat on the allocation of Imo State.
Annoyingly, early this year and close to three years after he sacked 10,000 Imo state civil servants the governor advertised the availability of 11,000 jobs via IMO YOUTH MUST WORK programme but didn’t explain where the money to pay the workers will come from since he gave lack of money to pay workers as the reason for sacking the 10,000 Imo civil servants in 2011. Where is the 11,000 jobs opening when the same government cannot pay its civil servants well, again where is this job opening when Okorocha has not built one industry or rehabilitate existing ones.
I can tell that the millions of people in Imo rural areas that he has abandoned will never vote for him again. We all know that it is close to three years of his government and yet democracy does not exist in the 27 local government councils of Imo state as provided for in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria whereas neighboring states have elected men and women in their councils. The result is a comatose Imo LGA’s begging to be attended to. Lack of basic amenities has made these LGA’s a ghost environment.
How can a man who was elected democratically but has been operating the LGA in Imo state with Sole Administrators ask Imo people to re-elect him when he has deprived the same Imo people democracy in their LGA’s. What moral right does he have to ask Imo people to re-elect him when the same Imo people are seeing him using Imo LGA monies to fund his private concerns and award inflated contracts to his companies and cronies. He has told Imo people that they have no right to elect their leaders in the LGA’s and they have no right to elect their town union officials and youth leaders at the grass -root. He is saying “Imo people shut up”
He has also used his brand of military rule to persecute the people of Owerri zone demolishing there houses and shops here and there. Even Oguta State Constituency in Imo State has not produced its representative to the Imo State House of Assembly since after the 2011 general election close to three years now. Owerri people also are itching to occupy Douglas house. How can Ohaji/Egbema as well as Oguta vote for him when he has been looting the 13 percent oil derivation funds of Imo oil producing areas. ISOPADEC, the commission charged with development of Imo oil areas is in comatose. Schools, water, electrification, roads and hospital rehabilitation in Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta which form part of the duties of ISOPADEC remain in their same dilapidated state. There is also the N400 million naira Imo flood victims relief fund given to Imo State by the Federal Government which has developed wings. I tell you the 2015 election in Imo will be an election that will rescue Imo State from Mister Rescuer.
Kenneth Uwadi. Mmahu-Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria
