APC Congresses and The Nigeria Factor
Just last weekend the All Progressive Congress APC held its state congresses across the country. Before that weekend, the congress had on two occasions been postponed.
Eventually the congress which ordinarily supposed to end at the field according to party constitution in some of the states ended up through harmonization from the ward to the state levels.
This situation though took place in some of the APC controlled states where the Government House turned to the voting and collection centres.
But unfortunately and as usual, the news across the country about the exercise is that of protests and disappointments by aggrieved party members who strongly felt short changed in the arrangement.
In Edo State for instance, the exercise recorded loss of lives and property. Though in some others, the dust raised by the exercise is yet to settle down as those who lost in the horse trading are still leaking their wounds.
Just in Imo state as in many other states, there has been a league of party faithfuls who are leaving the party in droves as a way of expressing their anger and disappointment.
Otherwise how is it that Governor Rochas Okorocha who said that he do not believe in zoning turn, around to zone some of the offices including the state chairmanship of APC? That is blasphemy as it amounts to shifting the goal post at the middle of the game.
In all and all, Nigerians and the political elites should try to come to terms with the realities of our epileptic democracy of the stomach. Yes, politics of winner take all, politics of I and I always. And indeed selfish politics.
APC is not alone in this mess but why it appears that we are talking about the party at this time is because of its pretence of being holier than thou.
Because APC since its formation has promised Nigerians that it is out to redefine the politics and country from the present position which according to it the ruling PDP has kept and left the nation.
But for us, we know that Nigerians both the low and mighty are the same people. And that is why when APC or the opposition criticizes the ruling party, we only intune “na de same people”.
So, we think that the problem of Nigerian politics and democracy is that of lack of ideology. And it is until we redefine our ideological position, Nigerian politics will continue to be bread and butter politics.
A situation where our politicians harlot from one party to the other unchecked should be condemned by the constitution and electoral law to give some credibility to the entire arrangement. Otherwise, if we continue or leave the stage as it is, we will get to a one party system knowingly or unknowingly.
Since both the winners and loosers are only driven by selfish and personal aggrandizement, it therefore follows that everybody irrespective of ones ideology will collapse into the ruling party.
We believe and strongly too, that politicians should appreciate the fact that nobody wins a race always. And that you lost at a point is not enough reason to leave as what should drive our attraction to any political family is ideology and not selfish aggrandizement.
The Collapse of Imo SACA: In Whose Interest
Our state Imo, has being experiencing many unconstitutional and illegal acts that result to anti people from different administration since the creation of Imo State from the Old Eastern region. However such wicked act reached its crescendo in the present government led by Rochas Anayachukwu Ethelbert Okorocha.
Research on the actions and in actions of the Okorocha led government has show that it is built on sentiment, Nepotism and Victimization, despite my people, my people and zero corruption crusade; it has remained the voice of Jacobs and the hands of Isau.
Readers, both pro and anti Okorocha alike, I wish to draw your attention to a situation where and how professionalism, efficiency was murdered at the altar of sentiment, nepotism and victimization by the collective arrangement of the permanent secretary of the Imo State ministry of health, Dr John Ihebereme and other high level political office holders in the state government house. But the question remains in whose interest?
I have always investigated most virgin stories carried by the newspapers on my own as a social critic and most has been found to be authentic and first hand. On my usual way when the story of “Why world bank blacklist IMOSACA by one Owerri base labliod, and similar one, Alleged Recruitment Scam in Imo Ministry of Health by Trumpeta was pointing on the same direction. I swung into what I know best-investigation, to unravel the truth. Today what I found out is what I want to share with you as a stakeholder in the state.
The truth is that the two different stories that points at Dr Ihebereme and ministry of Health and black-listing of IMOSACA are authentic with documented evidences. It was unravel that the permanent secretary did not only facilitate the removal of some officers of IMOSACA who have not served out their statutory tenures, but that he went ahead to forge vital and sensitive documents of recruitment in the Imo State Agency, for the control of HIV/AIDS (IMOSACA). In whose interest?
My investigation revealed that the removed officers, the Project Manager and the Procurement Officer were suspended and for more than ten (10) months, they were left in the dark over their fate as nothing was communicated to them. Surprisely, before the panel instituted to investigate the allegations leveled against them could commence sitting, the previous project manager, Dr Benjamin Nwammadu from Ideato South who had been in the same office for over eleven (11) years and on Dr Austine Okeji were illegally recruited to function in full capacity in whose interest?
It was further discovered that the Permanent Secretary’s arranged/fraudulent recruitment exercise brought in an unqualified officer a mechcal practitioner, Dr Okeji, which he tried to defend according to the story in Trumpeta, forgetting that a laid down rule/procedure has been sacrosanct to the agency that is why over the years IMOSACA has always drawn Procurement Officers from the procurement unit of the state ministry of Health. This was also why the vacancy notice was an internal memo. In whose interest?
In a bid to hatch the alleged fraudulent recruitment, a purported minutes of a meeting held on the 11th June 2013 at the conference hall of the ministry of health by 10:45pm for the inauguration of a purported Ten Member recruitment panel headed by the permanent secretary was arranged forged. The said meeting was discovered to be a scam, as most of the members of the purported panel denied any knowledge of such panel, meeting or recruitment for instance the then Director of Administration and Finance of the ministry of health but now in the Ministry of Justice were among those that denied any knowledge of such event or panel.
Why Gov Okorocha should know about this and interfere is because according to the governor he has come to rescues Imo from mediocres. I still remembered that sometime last year I read in the dailies how the embattled project manager one Dr Ethelbert Anyanwu, shortly after his assumption of office as the Director General Imo State Agency for the control of HIV/AIDS transformed the Agency and recorded the best reduction of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the South-East South-South of Nigeria from 4.6% to 3%. However his record breaking achievement during his short stay as IMOSACA DG was discovered not to be a surprise as he was the state coordinator for HIV/AIDS programmes in the Ministry of Health for more than six (6) years before becoming the DG, it was like putting a round peg in a round hole.
If Gov Okorocha really believe in result; then the said Dr Anyanwu should not be sacrificed on the alter of sentiment, and victimization as many people/staff of the Agency told me in confidence that ever since Okorocha became the governor, Dr Anyanwu has been under fire and that it cannot be unconnected to the fact that Dr Anyanwu is from Ehime Mbano. In whose interest?
On my visit to the Agency I discovered that their activities have gone dormant; when I tried to enquire why, it was gathered that due to the unjustified removal of Dr Anyanwu and the return of Dr Nwammadu, the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) is alleged to have blacklisted the State Agency in terms of funding with a total rejection of the new leadership. In whose interest?
The investigation also revealed that the embattled Dr Anyanwu has gone to the National Industrial court, Owerri, to challenge his suspension without investigation we are yet to know in whose interest all these are for.
By Uwadiegwu Maduka
Owerri
