By Onyekachi Eze and Okey Alozie
A tinge of drama ensued yesterday at the premises of the Owerri High Court, as a former Commissioner for Works during Rochas Okorocha’s tenure, Mrs. Josephine Udorji broke down in tears and wept like a baby while on witness Box while being quizzed by the Imo State Government Judicial panel of Inquiry on contracts.
Recall that the outgone Imo governor, Emeka Ihedioha had constituted a panel of enquiry on all road contracts awarded by his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha.
After his exit, Governor Hope Uzodinma continued from where Ihedioha stopped by retaining the committee.
The chairman of the commission of inquiry is Hon Justice Benjamine Iheka and his Members.
For more than five minutes that she was discharged after her submission at the judicial panel on Wednesday, Mrs Udorji was unable retire as she was busy controlling tears flowing freely in her cheeks at the witness box.
She was helped out of the witness box after staying more than necessary.
The former commission exonerated herself from the contracts during the Rescue Mission administration led by Owelle Rocha Okorocha as the governor of Imo State.
In her submission proper at the witness box, she claimed never to have partaked in any of the contracts handled during Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s government, adding that it was Paschal Obi, the then principal secretary to the governor who chaired the committee that executed the capital project contracts within that period.
In her words, “because of the committee set up by then governor, Rochas Okorocha, to handle capital projects in Imo State, my ministry was not part of it. What I only handled was just the zero potholes project.
“I was a ruber stamp commissioners” she said.
Josphine Udorji explained that those at the top told her that governor never wanted to victimize or ignore her for not allowing her ministry to handle capital projects rather, to make sure that the job is executed faster, because Okorocha as at that time was in a haste to deliver.
Udorji further explained that she used the capable hands in her ministry to handle the zero pothole job which according to her was a great innovation that she made for her ministry.
Udorji also said that she was going on supervision to all the projects in Imo State but added “I have no knowledge of all the execution of all the capital projects”
She told the panel that as Transition Committee chairman of Ideato North in 2014, “I never awarded any contract but rather supervised the hospital and road projects because I was the council boss then”.
The panel asked her what should have happened in ideal situation and she said that if due process was followed, she would have been appointed the chairman of the contract execution committee and not (Paschal Obi). The panel members laughed at this point.
