This piece is intended to look at the political ordeal of the Agbasos which is coming on the heels of the report of a special commitee constituted by the Imo House of Assembly which indicted the deputy governor over allegations that he collected N450 Million from one Joseph Dina, a lebanese contractor who runs JPROS International Limited.
The Deputy Governor reportedly told newsmen at the weekend that his ordeal is political because he is at the centre of a power play between his elder brother and Governor Rochas Okorocha over an agreement for power to move to Owerri Zone in 2015. And it is on his humble submission this piece will dwell on.
However,despite the outrage that has trailed the outcome of the findings of the House Commitee led by Hon Simoen Iwunze, it will be premature to discuss the allegations of fraud against the deputy governor and the undercurrents that has trailed these events in the last few days since the matter is not completely over.
Besides, it is against the grain of commonsense for anyone to allude that the young Deputy Governor is guilty of the allegations when he has not been impeached or criminal action institued against him . Before now, I had made conscious effort to seek ways of getting the deputy governor or his media aides speak on the issue- either through a one on one interview or press briefing- especially after the commitee report of the House of Assembly was made available to the local media in the State late last week.
I read in between the lines of the terse press statement dished out from the office of the deputy governor concerning the matter, and I was taken aback on the basis that the statement lacked the persuasive strenght to compel Imolites to think twice before jumping into conclusions that the allegations against the Deputy Governor were true or not.
To say the least, the press statement was a timid defence. Besides, I wondered why such a press statement was coming at a time the House Commmitee report was made public and not when it was first reported in the media that the Deputy Governor was investigated by a special commitee of the House.
While I will not pass blames on the media department managing the deputy governor, I felt the defence was belated and should have come a time the press in the State was awash with reports that the deputy governor was involved in a contract scam and facing an investigation commitee constituted by the Imo House of Assembly.
Anyway, when I heard that the Agbasos were ready to talk newsmen on the imbroglio last Saturday(11/2012), I was delighted initially as such an opportunity will afford yours sincerely the opportunity to really get to know the other side of the story. However, shock overwhelmed me when Imo Trumpeta was excluded for undisclosed reasons from among the print media houses to cover the event at the Emekuku country home of the Agbasos.
Without much ado, I will say that the ordeal of the younger Agbaso is a revelation of how the art of politics has become so vicious in Imo State. I tend to agree with those who say that the entire saga is beyond what we see. Like the deputy governor reportedly said his ordeal has political undertones. Some pundits agree with him saying it is politically motivated. That it has to do with the struggle for political power in 2015 in the State .
Whichever dimension one sees the entire scenario, I will say that what has befallen the Agbasos presently is the anti climax of a political movie which started right from the day the Agbasos conceeded the governorship ticket of APGA to Rochas.
For those who read this colunm on Tuesdays since Imo Trumpeta newspaper made its debut in September, 2011 will remember vividly that I had predicted that the political romance between the Agbasos and Okorocha at that time may become too cold for comfort in the near future.
For purposes of clarity and sharp understanding of the message I intend to pass across in this piece, I hereby reproduce verbatim some relevant portions of my piece titled: Okorocha And The Agbasos:Why Things Are Falling Apart, published on this column (See Imo Trumpeta of Tuesday, June 26, 2012, Vol 2 No 100) Read on:
“A close observer of the political romance between the Agbasos and Okorocha will easily predict that the intensity of the romance will lead to a face off now or in the near future. Several reasons can be adduced as factors responsible for this emerging scenario.
I remember with nostalgia shortly after the 2011 governorship election, some stakeholders in Owerri Zone complained so bitterly over how our dear governor conceded so much to the Agbasos. I saw reasons in their submissions on the basis that the Governor ignored these stakeholders and felt that there are no other political titans in Owerri zone that can be of immense assistance to his Administration….
“Further, Okorocha’s political think tank failed to realize that an ambitious political family like the Agbasos, who have never hidden their desire to produce his (Okorocha) successor in 2015, will never cease to maximize all the political capital and gain it can garner in the present dispensation to actualize its intentions.
This is why it appears the younger Agbaso is perceived to be going out of the way to ensure that the political dynamics that will ensure the realization of the project is not compromised in the present political dispensation. Having played a strategic role in the emergence of Okorocha as Governor, it will not be out of place if the younger Agbaso is agitating for compliance of whatever political agreement that led to the coming on board of Okorocha to power.
If what we hear that there is an existing pact between the Agbasos and Okorocha that will guarantee a smooth hand over of the reins of the State to the older Agbaso in 2015, then it is certainly not out of place if the younger Agbaso is doing all he can to ensure that the project becomes a reality .
Benito Mussolini, the Italian World War II leader said, war sets the seal of nobility on those who have the courage to face it. The younger Agbaso is simply adhering to this political principle and there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong about it. But they (Agbasos) seem to forget that any man that holds power is like a Machiavelli. It is unfortunate that the Agbasos have forgotten that in politics, one of the Machiavellian theories adopted by men with power is to ditch the ladder that catapulted them to the seat of governance.
Perhaps, they forgot so soon that it is the stock in trade of Nigerian politicians to apply draconian Machiavelli doctrines when they are on the saddle of governance……
I continued “Ohakim implemented partly the Machiavelli theory when he was Imo Governor and this led to cessation of his political loyalty to the Orji Kalus, the Udenwas and Iwus who aided his ascension to power. Ohakim had successfully cut down his political adversaries to size and became the political lord of the manor. He would have become a political Nero of our time, if he had returned as governor of the State for a second time.
This is the path Okorocha seems to be following. And it is important the Agbasos realize early enough that in Nigeria’s brand of democracy, the man wielding power dictates and determines the political temperature of his political environment and the faith of his political followers. Whatever pact they(Agbasos) had with Okorocha, which they see as a propelling factor that will compel the latter to hand over power to them in 2015, they should remember the words of Adolf Hitler, who said a pact made in time of peace is a scrap of paper in times of war.
Gone are the days transfer of political power is achieved by an agreement scribbled on a piece of paper. Political power is taken and not given. It is only in climes that are yet to assimilate the dynamics that shape modern democracy that indulge in this ancient political practice. Therefore, if any of the Agbasos is desirous of taking power from Okorocha in 2015, he/ she must cease to rely on whatever political agreement it entered with anyone as a basis that will take them to Government House, Owerri”
The above analysis was my postulation on the political relationship between Okorocha and the Agbasos nine months ago. It is unfortunate that it is almost coming to reality.
At the same time, It will be unfair if I decide to go farther in this write up to make another prediction of the political fate of the Agbasos viz-a viz the next political dispensation in the State when the ongoing scandal is yet to abate. I will leave that for another day.
However, I will attribute the current contract saga the Deputy Governor has found himself to negligence of due process and inability to stick to laid down rules regulating government functions. It is assumed in many quarters that this Administration since inception has never followed due process in running government activities. I remember some officials of the State Government who openly confessed that due process and bureaucracy slows down the pace the Administration intends to rescue Imo State. And I wonder where on planet earth does due process is relegated to the background in affairs of governance?
My observations showed that the job undertaken by JPROS international did not go through due process. This was justified by the submission of the deputy governor who in his submission as contained in the House committee report which stated “the contractor was appraised and appointed by the Ministry though he did not emerge through tender. However, that the contractor was selected because he showed capacity by mobilizing equipment to the State at short notice where were publicly displaced at the premises of old Imo hotel and ready to commence work without mobilization which was in tandem with the style of the Rescue Mission Administration at inception”
The question is why should contracts not be advertised and a tender for jobs undertaken by the State government not put in place? Why would a contractor be selected for a job on the basis of mere wishful assumption that he has the capability to deliver?
According to the Iwunze Committee report, disregard for Due Process also came to the fore, when the Commissioner of Finance claimed that the Governor directed orally at an Exco meeting that monies for contracts should be paid to contractors. The committee report quoted the Finance Commissioner as saying “because of issues arising from the management of funds, close to one billion naira by the Ministry of Works And Transport for the resurfacing of Owerri Municipal roads on the advent of this administration, His Excellency, directed orally at an Exco meeting that payment for road contracts be made direct to the contractors by the ministry of finance”
And I ask why did the Commissioner of Finance not seek for the translation of such oral instruction into writing considering the fact the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Dr. Paschal Obi (KSM) had written earlier that the Ministry of Works should receive such monies for contracts? Why did the order not reversed in writing or through correspondences?
