By Onyekachi Eze
The Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Senator Rochas Okorocha may be in for a fresh trouble if reports emanating from the panel of inquiries on award of contracts from 2011-2019 is anything to be considered.
Information obtained by Trumpeta Newspaper has it that the then Imo State governor, Okorocha, has been unable to report to the probe panel on award of contracts during his tenure as Imo State governor (2011-2019).
It was authoritatively gathered that he shunned the judicial commission of inquiry yesterday after he pleaded for more date to respond to them in their last call up on February 20th.
Recall that the commission was set up by the ousted governor, Emeka Ihedioha and was okayed by his predecessor, Hope Uzodinma, who asked for its continuity.
After failing to answer the commission on a scheduled date, 20th February, 2020 to answer questions from the witness box about contracts awarded by his administration, Okorocha was reportedly nowhere to be found on an agreed date, which was yesterday.
Against this backdrop, the ex-governor through his counsel, C.A.N. Osondu stated that he was on a national assignment and requested that he be allowed to appear on March 5th, 2020.
Motives for his absence this time around baffled the commission as no reason was given.
Instead, his counsel disclose that according to Owelle Okorocha’s son in-law, Uche Nwosu, the senator was on another national assignment in the North and requested for a fresh date which he promised to be present.
Reacting, the Commission’s Chairman, Justice Benjamin Iheka, who was not happy with Senator Okorocha’s absence, permitted his counsel to go outside and put a call across to Okorocha to find out if his national assignment means he would not be appearing before the commission.
But, after ten minutes, Osondu returned back to court and disclosed that he was not able to reach Okorocha.
Before adjourning the matter to Monday March 16, 2020, Justice Iheka said he decided to give Okorocha’s counsel the chance to confer with him so as to satisfy his conscience that he had been fair to all.
The chairman disclosed that the commission was not putting anyone on trial but was a fact finding one, “which cannot be used to undue anybody”.
He insisted that he and members of the commission were not perturbed about the various insinuations on the social media about the commission.
