Fresh facts have emerged why the former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly and the Deputy Governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Rt Hon Acho Ihim moved into the PDP.
Ihim had proved bookmakers wrong when he surprisingly appeared on the day of the inauguration of the 9th House of Assembly to declare for the PDP.
Trumpeta investigation revealed that Ihim’s claims that he was declaring for PDP in line with the wishes of his former party that all litigations against Ihedioha be stopped, to assist in the Rebuild Imo Project, is a decoy to evade further challenges he would face after leaving office on controversial circumstances.
It would be recalled that Ihim was forced to resign as Speaker to escape impeachment. However, his colleagues who handed him a suspension from the last days of activities, later asked that he be stripped off all rights and privileges as a former Speaker. Also, all traces recognizing him as a former Speaker, according to the members, be deleted from the Assembly complex while he was to account for over N 460m belonging to the House he received as Speaker.
This newspaper gathered that apparently troubled by the latter developments which made a mincemeat of his stay as Speaker, Ihim reconsidered his political future and decided to dump the political structure of the former governor Senator Rochas Okorocha and his son in-law AA/APC alliance for PDP.
It was learnt that Ihim who had few days after leaving office lamented how Okorocha dumped him during trying periods came up with the decision to dump the Rescue Mission family.
According to a source close to the Okigwe born lawmaker, the PDP move was to avoid the calamity that would befell him if he continues to remain in the AA/APC Okorocha arrangement. Apart from being probed dragged to anti graft agencie and possibly made to refund monies wrongly spent, Trumpeta was told that Ihim didn’t want to miss his Severance Allowance payment members of the immediate past house are entitled to. By remaining with AA/APC alliance, Ihim will not be considered for payment of such allowances by the present administration if he failed to join PDP following the resolution of his colleagues to delete his history and records as Speaker.
Similarly, another huge loss Ihim was to have witnessed was said to have pushed him into PDP. The former Speaker was among those who are likely going to lose their property at the Shell Camp Quarters, Owerri, High Court ordered the former occupiers, ALVAN Retirees to take over from the present persons over illegal possession. Trumpeta learnt that Ihim had almost completed the massive building in the location after injecting millions of fortune to raise the mansion. To use the present government to survive losing the only house he built in Owerri, Ihim had to join the PDP and show sympathy to the present government.
Further developments also have it that since he was accused to have pocketed the eight months allowances of his suspended colleagues. Therefore, he needed to be in the ruling party in the state to avoid serious man hunt from his colleagues, especially, now one of his victims Chiji Collins of Isiala Mbano emerged Speaker.
Meanwhile, the reported poor state of facilities the immediate past government left behind for the present to inherit is not limited to the executive arm of government alone, as the legislative is also involved, reports Trumpeta.
Findings available to the newspaper also have it that a similar scenario where property in Government House were found in bad shape has repeated at the Speaker’s Lodge.
A visit to where the embattled former Speaker resided before he was forced to resign and leave the premises is in shambles and in a war torn state.
Trumpeta investigation further discovered that while moving out of the Speaker’s premises at the Commissioners Quarters area in the State capital, there is suspicion that Ihim may have made away with all property kept in the place.
A source who offered anonymity told our correspondent that vital property bought with state government money and kept at the premises have been carted away as Ihim was going out.
Apart from the property found in the duplex which was made away with, a transformer suspected to be kept to service the Speaker’s Lodge has also disappeared fuelling speculation that the premises has been raided. It was further learnt that a serviceable water pumping manchine was also taken away leaving behind a damaged one.
It would be recalled that immediately Ihim tendered his resignation letter after failing to convince his colleagues reasons why he should keep on as number one lawmaker, Ihim quickly packed out of the Speaker’s Lodge to a rented apartment in town.
