In my last article I talked about Ali Baba the\u00a0 character from the medieval Arabic literature Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.In the literature story\u00a0\u00a0 Ali Baba encountered 40 thieves and later became their\u00a0 leader. In my last article, I also talked about the Ali Baba of Imo State of Nigeria and his 27 thieves. I told you with reasons why the Governor of Imo State Chief Rochas Okorocha is the\u00a0\u00a0 Ali Baba of Imo State\u00a0 and why\u00a0 Chief Benjamin Uwajumogu the Speaker of the\u00a0 Imo House of Assembly and\u00a0 the members of the\u00a0 Imo\u00a0 House of Assembly\u00a0 are the 27 thieves.<\/p>\n
I told you about the looting\u00a0 of the 13 percent oil derivation fund of Ohaji\/Egbema\/Oguta ,the looting of the 27 LGA funds in Imo State and the looting of 400 million naira flood money of Ohaji\/Egbema\/Oguta flood victims.I\u00a0 tried to open every\u00a0 eyes to see and recognized the true identity of the\u00a0 dishonorable men and women purporting to represent our collective interest in the Imo House of Assembly. We have 26 puppets and one grand puppeteer in the Imo House. As\u00a0 expected the media aide of the Speaker of Imo House of Assembly took\u00a0 a hard sweep on\u00a0 me\u00a0 calling for my\u00a0 head. The said aide even went as far as attaching my cries\u00a0 to Okigwe\u00a0 2015 senatorial seat. Who cares about Okigwe senatorial seat? I am not even from Okigwe zone.<\/p>\n
My anger is that the Imo State House of Assembly\u00a0 has\u00a0 connived\u00a0 with Ali Baba , aided and abetted gross financial impropriety in Imo state and that is why I am calling them the 27 thieves. Who doesn\u2019t know that the past government of Chief Ikedi Ohakim\u00a0 left a total sum of N26.27billion in various bank accounts of the state namely: Balance of Imo bond proceeds in UBA Plc \u201c N13.3billion; SUBEB project accounts with BankPHB (now Keystone Bank Ltd) \u201c N3billion; VAT account in Zenith Bank Plc \u201c N488million; Internally generated Revenue account with Zenith BANK Plc \u201c N450million; Local Government Joint project account with BankPHB \u201cN2.5Billion; Agric Loan Account with Access Bank Plc \u201c N500million; Fertilizer sales account with Oceanic Bank Plc \u201c N250million; JAAC Account with BankPHB \u201c N3.6billion; MDG Projects accounts with Fidelity Bank Plc \u201c N500million; Education Trust Fund (ETF) with Zenith Bank \u201c N1billion and Imo Children Education Funds \u201c N670million. The Total sum is N26.27billion.<\/p>\n
Where is the money?The entire N26.27billion has been criminally squandered by Chief Uwajumogu and Governor Okorocha. Suffice to say that this is a clear case of crass abuse of office, criminal conspiracy and outright stealing of public funds which should attract very serious sanctions yet the speakers\u00a0 media aide has the mouth to call me names.In\u00a0 a propaganda to paint “all is well” picture of Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State\u00a0 is always on Africa Independent Television (AIT ) and Channel TV to buoy his\u00a0 ego and selfish interests. The irony of this madness is that\u00a0 our governor\u00a0 who should cover his\u00a0 face in shame for looting the resources\u00a0 of Imo State\u00a0 is\u00a0 the one\u00a0 dominating television stations\u00a0 and\u00a0 the pages of Newspapers\u00a0 showing fake transformation in Imo State when nothing tangible is on ground in the 27 Local government of Imo State.<\/p>\n
It is regrettable that rather than check the executive arm, the Imo state House of Assembly is criminally colluding with the executive in\u00a0 fraudulent diversion of billions of\u00a0 Imo people\u2019s money.Who doesn\u2019t know how\u00a0 Okorocha and Chief Uwajumogu\u00a0\u00a0 criminally shared\u00a0 n45billion and n28billion loans illegally secured with Imo LGA\u2019s allocations .In the past, LGA funds in Imo State was used to develop certain vital social services in the grass root like education, health care and key investments on infrastructures like water, electricity, roads, industries, etc, all which severally and collectively positively impacted on the living standard of the ordinary working masses in the grassroot areas.<\/p>\n
In sharp contrast, the current Okorocha\u2019s so-called government, acting under the dictates and or in concert with imperialism has completely jettisoned the idea of government using local government funds and resources to better the lots of the local councils Instead, it has adopted a whole scale capitalist, neo-liberal strategy of looting of council funds. Currently there are\u00a0 no single development going on in the 27 LGA\u2019s of the state. Lack of basic amenities have\u00a0 made these LGA\u2019s\u00a0 a ghost environment. Thanks to Okorocha and Uwajumogu.<\/p>\n
Uwajumogu\u2019s media aide should know that we know the various schemes perfected by Okorocha and\u00a0 Uwajumogu to unwholesomely divert public funds and in fact share public funds among themselves as largesse. They also go through phantom award of road contracts without any contract documents.Many road projects in Imo state don\u2019t have project design,no advertisement were placed, no bidding,no bills of quantities and specifications,no tender at all, no evidence of prequalification of contractor , no provision for the project in the State budget.<\/p>\n
A breakdown of the allocation to states of the federation shows that Imo\u00a0 State got over N127 billion between\u00a0 2011 and 2013, this exclude\u00a0 the\u00a0 N135 billion accrued to\u00a0 the 27 local governments area in Imo State\u00a0 within the same period. This also exclude the N16 billion which is 13 percent Oil derivation fund for Imo State\u00a0 oil producing areas within the same period.13 percent oil derivation to Imo oil areas is 500 million naira a month.Where are the monies? Yet some persons want us to keep quiet.<\/p>\n
It is an open secret that the dishonourable speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly awarded\u00a0 road construction contracts in the state and even installed his own Asphalt plant in Owerri from where almost all the asphalt used in the construction in the state are procured. Similarly, most of the dishonorable members of the Imo State House of Assembly abandoned their legitimate legislative duties and are in a mad rush to build hotels in Owerri such as the magnificent hotels being built by Honourable Mrs. Eudora Igwe, member, representing Ideato North State Constituency and Honourable Amuka (AKA Oshimiri), member, representing Ideato South state Constituency. Uwajumogu himself\u00a0 has completed two hotels in\u00a0 Owerri and Lagos and renovated the one in Umuahia with Imo tax payers money.<\/p>\n
The financial rot in Imo State is enormous. Most Imo state money yielding corporations have been sold or leased to the governor for little or nothing in contravention of the Imo State Investment Promotion Agency Law. Part of Imo Hotel leased to Okorocha, Ada Palm sold to Okorocha for N3.5Billion, 18 General Hospitals sold to Lantech Solutions, Imo Transport Corporation leased to Global Ginikana Ltd for N250 million, Both Concorde Hotel and Oguta Lake Motel\u00a0 leased for 20 years to ABM Global Nigeria Ltd. Enough looting in the state.<\/p>\n
Since the inauguration of\u00a0 Chief Okorocha\u2019s -led administration on the 29th of May, 2011, its\u00a0 conducts and attitude towards the working people of\u00a0 Imo State have clearly shown that his regime is\u00a0 nothing but\u00a0 a monumental waste.<\/p>\n
First among the anti-workers\u00a0 actions of the Okorocha\u2019s\u00a0 government was the sack of 10,000 Imo Civil servants. Close to three years after Okorocha\u00a0\u00a0 wickedly sacked\u00a0 10,000\u00a0 Imo\u00a0 workers in order not to pay wages, he\u00a0 has\u00a0 shamelessly launched\u00a0\u00a0 IMO YOUTHS MUST WORK programme, a programme\u00a0 where he boast to\u00a0 employ 11,000\u00a0 Imo\u00a0 youths under\u00a0 a\u00a0 slave-driving\u00a0 casualization of workers\u00a0 scheme. With the IMO YOUTHS MUST WORK programme ,he plans to place the employees as casual workers\u00a0 and give them\u00a0 a\u00a0 poverty wage and not allow them\u00a0 to join trade union. They are\u00a0 to be paid a ridiculous amount of N10,000 out of\u00a0 which N2,000\u00a0 will be allegedly deducted as tax.The height of the anti-worker disposition of\u00a0 Chief Okorocha\u2019s -led administration is the continued refusal to fully implement the paltry N18, 000 minimum wage which has been signed into law since March 25th, 2011 and the continuous refusal to absolve workers of Imo state that were sent home from Abia state civil service.<\/p>\n
Here we are, almost three\u00a0 years of this administration and we are seeing\u00a0 unleashing of attacks on pay and conditions of workers, petty traders, road side mechanics, other artisans and unemployed youths are now groaning under brutal attack on their means of livelihood. In the name of beatification at strategic places while the interior and inner roads are deplorable,\u00a0 buildings mainly used for different purposes like churches, houses, and shops in many parts of Owerri are\u00a0 demolished without any provision of alternative.<\/p>\n
Reminiscent of the inglorious era of military absolutism where culture of fear and intimidation is often imposed on the people, Chief Okorocha\u2019s -led administration through the service of some gangs of uniformed thugs who masquerade as Government monitoring team has continued, under the guise of beautification and cleaning-up project, to use brute force to subject thousands of small traders and artisans at different areas of owerri\u00a0 to all forms of harassment and physical assault.<\/p>\n
To intensify the attack on the living condition of the suffering masses, the government introduced different extorting policies through levy, tax, fees etc. In Owerri, heavy taxes are imposed on houses,banks,hotels and shops in the name of Physical Planning and Infrastructural Development Fund.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the government does not use its legitimate machinery to collect these fees. It rather employs the services of thugs who do not only intimidate people but also wreak havoc in the process. A sanitation fee is forcefully collected from people who dispose wastes themselves in the nearest bush but have never set their eyes on a government waste bin van. Yet, there has been nothing fundamentally to show for the infrastructure levy collected from the masses.<\/p>\n
We call on workers, students, writers, bloggers , the youth, peasant farmers, artisans, professionals, traders and other sections of the working people of Imo State to join us\u00a0 as\u00a0 we speak\u00a0 out against the looting of Imo State treasury by the capitalist non performing military governor of Imo State in civilian clothing Chief Rochas Okorocha .\u00a0 Save us Oh God.<\/p>\n
-Kenneth Uwadi, Mmahu-Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In my last article I talked about Ali Baba the\u00a0 character from the medieval Arabic literature Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.In the literature story\u00a0\u00a0 Ali Baba encountered 40 thieves…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n