Chief Barrister COC Akaolisa is the Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Imo State Chapter. Before now, he worked as the Special Adviser to the former Governor of Imo State, Dr Achike Udenwa on Administration and cabinet office.
Recently, he spoke to Imo Trumpeta on the state of Affairs of Imo, since May 29th 2011 that Owelle Rochas Okorocha took over the mantle of leadership of the state. Here is the excerpt.
ASSESSMENT OF OKOROCHA’S ADMINISTRATION SINCE 2011
Owelle Rochas Okorocha is the most wasteful Governor that Imo has ever produced. This is because he has no regard for due process. A Government that says it is unconventional. That has brought to the fore the recklessness of the current administration in Imo state. Projects are carried our without feasibility studies, concepts, and executed without evaluation, not to talk of their economic and social benefits to the people. And at the middle course, you discover that they are not good and abandon them.
Imo has lost a lot of resources due to Government’s planlessness. Look at the abandoned gates, Imo State University structures at Ogboko, the 27 General Hospitals for instance. If they had done proper study of Imo people, especially rural areas, Okorocha would have discovered that there was no need for a General Hospital in each of the 27 LGAs, because it is not feasible. Even the small Health Centres are not effectively run. Now he wants LGAs to run General Hospitals, where would they gate the funds, when the state cannot afford it?
Do you know what it would take to employ Doctors and Nurses, equip the laboratories and other equipment needed to run 27 General Hospitals in a state?
These resources could have been used for other important needs. It will take not less than N100,000,000 (one hundred million naira) to set up one General Hospital.
ON INFRASTRUCTURES IN THE STATE
Replication of structures at the present location of the Government House are all wastages. The Governor came in and saw money left behind by his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim and thought the best way is to squander the money. If Ohakim was as reckless as Okorocha, he would have met nothing in Imo Treasury.
A prudent Governor would have spent the money for the benefit of the people. All these structures Okorocha is building, what are their Economic benefits to the masses of Imo State?
What are Okorocha’s long term Economic Projects for Imo State? The answer is none. He is only squandering the resources coming in, and wasting the ones he met in office.
Because the money is being squandered, there is too much fraud, because there are no checks and balances. You will discover that this administration will come out as the most fraudulent in the history of the state.
The benchmarks for assessing fraud in Government are where financial instructions are not jettisoned but applied. This is because Financial Rules and Instructions are put to check-mate fraud. And when they are put aside fraud in going on.
How do you evaluate a contractor that was not given any job specification?
ON THE LGA CHAIRMEN/OKOROCHA IMPASSE
It appears there is a conscious effort to put Imo State under this quagmire of crises in order to reap the state off financially. It is not PDP that is instrumental to the collapse of LGAs, but the Government in power. Because Okorocha is enjoying the crises in the LGAs, which has enabled them take control of the LGAs financial system. Otherwise, the Governor would have sought for ways to reach-out to settle the crises in the LGAs. This administration has not approached PDP for the settlement of Imo LGA problems.
OHAKIM/PDP ADMINISTRATION COMPARED TO OKOROCHA
In comparism with the present administration, Ikedi Ohakim becomes the most prudent Governor Imo State has ever had.
Looking at the achievements of Ohakim, he left a foot print of due process in everything he did. Jobs were properly advertised and awarded. Projects were properly evaluated, assessed and their Economic and Social viability taken into consideration before approval.
The Administrative Machinery of Government was in full force in all facets of Governance. And Imo was administered by the Laws guiding Government Actions. Ohakim ran Government as Government should be run. He did not have hang-over of Governmental excesses that one can define as unconventional. That was the reason through out his regime there were no litigations against policy actions or administrative questions against Government. There is lack of administration in the present Imo state. And I have not seen or heard any Department of Government going on Seminar or Workshop to learn the rudiments of Governance.
If Okorocha wants to stop the mess, he should be bold enough to invite experienced people to man the key positions, as Government is a serious business.
It will take Imo another 5 years to correct the administrative problem being run presently. Because, structures of Governance are being destroyed.
INVITATION OF EFCC TO IMO STATE
First of all, the Chairman of Imo House of Assembly on Information unfortunately is an illiterate, who cannot distinguish between a petition written by Bar COC Akaolisa as a person, and that written by ALGON. You cannot ascribe the complain of a client on the counsel just because he/she acted on behalf of his client. What I did was to forward the petition of ALGON, my client, to EFCC for investigation. And why should any body be afraid of investigation in a Democracy? If you know you are doing the correct thing you should not be afraid of investigation or petition.
I maintain that the Imo State Government has the obligation to explain to Imo people what it did with the N40B Naira it took as loan from Bank, and the N13B balance of the Bond Ohakim left behind.
This administration has borrowed more money from banks than administrations that had ruled Imo state put together, and this is under 2 years. Imo will find it difficult to pay back all the monies Okorocha has borrowed, including the mountain of internal debts owed to contractors.
Therefore, it is expected that Imo Government led by Okorocha, should come out openly to explain its financial dealings, and not take cover under the “Ohakim has stolen money theatrics”. They have borrowed more than Ohakim.
The majority of Imo citizens have lost confidence in the Government, because it cannot tell them the truth.
