The dust raised by the recent call by the Minister Supervising Foreign Affairs Ministry, Prof Viola Onwuliri requesting the Imo State Governor to outline what he has used allocations accruable from the Federal Government to the state since he assumed office in 2011, is yet to settle.
Apart from the heightened tension and brick bats it has generated in the society, aides of the governor are reported to be making spirited efforts to respond the request.
At a media chat with newsmen in Owerri on the 30th of December, 2013, Prof Onwuliri while speaking on the state of affairs in the country challenged Okorocha to give account of the quantum of funds made available to the state government from Federal Allocations adding that what is on ground does not justify the monies accruable to the state. She among other things named the LGA monthly allocations, Sure-P, Ecological Fund and NDDC Refund as part of the amount.
Despite the ill-conceived and puerile attempt of the state government to stomach the challenge, public commentaries trailing the request have forced Okorocha out of its shelve and initial condition that his predecessors especially, Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim must be brought to first render their own account and what they used the ISOPADEC money for.
Moments after the issue became a major topic in Thursday’s discussion of a regular programme of Owerri-based programme, Hot FM, People’s Assembly, suspected aides of the governor and top officials of the government moved to relevant government ministers for the purposes of ascertaining the actual figure of amount received and spent on several specific projects.
Strong indications that the criticisms that have continued to trail government response that the likes of Udenwa and Ohakim must first account for their stewardship before Okorocha, may have paid off emerged yesterday when the operatives of the state government came for verifications of files. Apart from demanding for files from ministry workers, data and statistics were sourced and collected from ministry staffers. Work hit in the exercise is the finance ministry and that of the local government and Chieftaincy affairs where the workers played host to several inquiries from the Government House. Files were moved from one office to another with the visiting team making several inquiries about income from the federal government and expenses.
The workers of the Ministry of Finance experienced a hectic day in their respective offices trying to respond to the needs of the visiting team.
