In an apparent reaction and response to serial criticisms and n
ewspaper expositions on the maladministration represented by Owelle Rochas Okorocha in Imo State, one Marcellus Ekwezuo, aggressively holding brief for the embattled deviant Governor, lumped the President of Imo Youth Assembly (IYA) Dr. HaroldWilson Onumo together with the likes of Ethelbert Okere and Eze Duruiheioma, as members of the opposition PDP, trying had to pull Governor Okorocha down, all for political motives and interests and at all costs.
In his article, Ekwezuo ended up ridiculing the patriotic and commendable efforts of the erudite medical practitioner and burgeoning social crusader at informing and educating Imolites on the recklessness, arrogance, deceit and mis-governance orchestrated by Rochas Okorocha and his Rescue Mission Agenda Administration.
As members of Okigwe Youth Assembly (OYA) we could have ignored the disparaging display demonstrated by Marcellus Ekwezuo against our worthy, dynamic and highly cerebral National President, Dr. HaroldWilson Onumo, but for its potent of misinforming and deceiving an already ignorant or uninformed and gullible people of Imo State who could readily swallow all of Okorocha’s vomit, and sputum, hook, line and sinker.
What the president of Imo Youth Assembly, Dr. Onumo has maintained in his constructive and unbiased analysis of the Rescue Mission Agenda which is almost 2 years old now, are:
That ‘the dismissal of more than 8,700 graduate’ employees of the previous administration, which Okorocha ordered suspended, verified, reviewed and cancelled is absolutely wrong, unjustifiable and that it has worsened the plight of progressive youths in Imo State.
Dr. Onumo advocates immediate assimilation of these victims of Okorocha’s high handedness since doing so will reduce the prevailing high rate of crimes, kiddnapping and militancy and by extension improve on the capacity of the state workforce to efficient service delivery. After all, Rochas Okorocha had while addressing a cross-section of Igbo intellectuals at the Ahiajoku event centre Owerri declared that he abhors following due process in conducting government business.
According to Dr. Harold Wilson Onumo, any public officer be he the governor, president or council chairman, who abhors due process in all its ramifications is criminally minded. There is concentrated degree of diligence, due process, rules, regulations, guidelines and bureaucracy in government business .except for those who have the unrepentant inclinations to ulterior motives and dishonesty. There remains no two types of due process. The essence of modern education which we all subscribe to, except for Boko Haram, is to learn, assimilate, appreciate and apply due process by following laid down, time tested rules and regulations.
There is no doubts that the Agbaso-gate or JPROS-gate scandals which have put a question mark on the masked reputation, integrity, and sincerity of purpose of Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha has equally brought an unending and lingering odium, opprobrium, contempt and embarrassment to the entire Rescue Mission Agenda and what it represents, thus vindicating our fear and anxiety over a fraudulent contraption of an Agenda. We support Dr. Onumo’s postulations that the Rescue Mission Agenda has left our health institutions in worst shapes compared to what it met on ground. The construction of 27 new general hospitals which is yet to reach 50% completion after 24 months, at the expense of the existing ones, now abandoned to dilapidate, is a colossal waste of funds that can reactivate or upgrade moribund industries or establish new ones that are not, necessarily 5-star hotels.
A general hospital does not become a specialist hospital by mere verbal pronouncement and change of nomenclature but by the employment of experts in several areas of specialization and upgrading to modern diagnostic equipment, of which we are yet to observe or see at the Umuguma so called Specialist Hospital. Most specialists, consultants, and researchers at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu have fled leaving the students bare with fears of eventual loss of accreditation and somebody somewhere is clapping. Okigwe Youth Assembly has also refused to be swayed by the razzmatazz and political propaganda of Owelle’s free education where none exists either in principle or in practice.
For goodness sake the UBE programme is still running. Except for insatiable elementary and secondary school teachers, no one is supposed to charge any fees or levies up to JSSIII because Olusegun Obasanjo made it absolutely free with provision of free text and exercise books. Ohakim, handed over the remaining secondary schools to the missions, so what is Okorocha doing with monies hitherto paid to teachers in the now returned schools to Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches?
Owelle Rochas Okorocha gets away with his bizarre cult-like method of governance because it is populated by his own blood relations, siblings and errand boys. A government of sister-general with nieces, nephews, aunts, in-laws and cousins and other inexperienced and zero groomed charlatans promoted to positions of incompetence is a failure any day. The Emperor brooks no opposition or correction.
This is why Marcellus Ekwezuo referred to Criminal due process, the administration of Chief Ikedi Ohakim. Yet Okorocha was the greatest beneficiary of the New face Administration. Owelle Rochas Okorocha was not only an appointee of Ohakim he nominated and chose the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for his candidate Chief Ben Obinali through whom he imported and flooded Imo State with expired Rice. That was a big scandal then. Sister-General Geraldine Obinali was also appointed council chairperson for Ideato South LGA by Ohakirn and she is known to have looted the treasury alongside Ikedi Ohakim. As chairman Imo State Education Endowment Fund, Okorocha gave conditions for the provision of free presidential suite at Imo Concorde Hotels Owerri and import licence before he could account for the money raised by local and international donors for the education of Imo people. That way he looted alongside Ikedi Ohakim.
Be that as it may it took Okorocha and Achike Udenwa to hold Ohakim to ransome. Ohakim was held hostage like a dog in a manger for 4 years with Udenwa and Okorochà choosing his commissioners, SAs and board members. Don’t forget that Udenwa at the eve of his departure in 2007 in inaugurated ISOPADEC board, appointed Pauly Ajoko accountant general, created and constituted the Development Centres and the 27 LGAs. He had earlier mortgaged Concorde to RHAS and Imo Hotels to Binez C.Maduako which steps Okorocha is steadily replicating with Adapalm now ceded to Roche which came in as “Real Estate Developers,” Water Board, IBC to AIT, Imo Transport to the sister-general and Concorde presently looted and vandalized in the name or renovation. How do you use public funds to renovate Concorde and build ICAPS only to donate to the private sectors?
There is certainly more than meets the eyes in the deals. This is why for almost two years there is no pipe borne water in Owerri or any other city in Imo State. No single road has been completed, decorated, landscaped and commissioned. Not even the Mega road named after Sm Mbakwe which has turned out to be a waste pipe to drain Imo Public Funds. One would have expected Marcellus Ekwezuo to exonerate Rochas Okorocha form the Agbaso/JPROS-gate for which Governor Okorocha and his principal secretary ordered immediate full payment of the sum of N.1.3 Billion for a 3km road even after the project cost has been reviewed downwards and contract yet to be executed. Who is fooling who in this cycle of naked dancing in the streets? The House of Assembly with men and women who claim to be representing their constituencies appears to be under a spell having transformed to an appendage of the Rescue Mission Agenda with the leadership appointed Government Liaison Officers at N50,000 monthly stipend. These misguided individuals never bothered to investigate the billions of state resources squandered at the Imo Private University Ogboko.
They had no qualms conducting the fastest impeachment in the world leaving the real criminal culprits or those who awarded a 3km road for N1.3 billion, to walk free and grandstand. Is it not a shame that Imo State of intellectual caliber of people who cannot stand by anything but continue to speak from both sides of their mouths and with tongues in the cheeks even on issues that touch on our collective will, welfare and common wealth. As a matter of fact, Okorocha has over N200billion to play around with. This is why his greatest achievement is training of thugs who now carry arms ready to kill. The monies include an average of N4billion monthly allocations for 24months or total of N96billion, another N3billion monthly allocations to the LGAs or N72b and the close to N27billion Okorocha inherited from Governor Ikedi Ohakim. At a monthly Internally Generated Revenue of N1.5billion according to his finance commissioner Okorocha is richer by yet another N36billion. Each month, Imo State collected about N700million more than Abia State as Statutory allocation. Abia State has 17LGAs against Imos 27 LGAs. Hence Imo gets another Nibillion extra. If Abia is working, at least there is electricity, water supply street lighting, new government house, new secretariat complex new commissioner’s quarters, new international market and new Timber and Industrial Market in Abia State, there is no reason Imo cannot excel above the sluggish repainting of existing structures and serial demolitions of wetheral road that Okorocha engages in for 2 years now.
Each of the general hospitals is valued at N200million upon completion or N5.4billion for 4 years. Each of the council roads is being built at N200million or N5.4billion for 4 years and those 305 model schools have been awarded to Roche for N9billion.
Where then has Okorocha kept the rest of the monies?
We shall continue in our little pragmatic and constructive ways to contribute our quota to make sure our state is really rescued from the scavengers and it is the duty of Marcellus Ekwezuo to advise his paymasters accordingly. No amount of intimidation can stop us from exploring democratic tenet of free speech and right of expression to direct this government or any other from imminent disaster.
Ken Okonkwo is secretary General Okigwe
