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Tag: Emeka Ihedioha

  • Tinubu celebrates Ihedioha at 60

    Tinubu celebrates Ihedioha at 60

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has felicitated with former Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha on his 60th birthday.

    In a statement on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu praised Ihedioha’s remarkable contributions to Nigeria’s democracy and development, acknowledging his decades-long service as a legislator and governor.

    The President highlighted Ihedioha’s over 30 years of experience in politics, legislative affairs, and executive governance, commending his commitment to nation-building and public service.

    “Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha’s staying power lies in his enduring ability to connect and work effectively with Nigerians from all walks of life.

    Read Also: Rivers emergency declaration: Okpebholo faults Jonathan

    “This defining trait shaped his tenure as a lawmaker, deputy speaker, and governor of Imo State,” Tinubu stated.

    He further expressed confidence that Ihedioha still has much to contribute to Nigeria’s growth and development, wishing him good health, strength, and renewed vigour as he marks this milestone.

    The President prayed that Ihedioha’s future endeavours bring continued progress and prosperity to the nation.

  • Tribunals dismiss election petitions against Ihedioha, Sule, Masari

    THE Imo, Nasarawa and Katsina Election Petitions Tribunals on Saturday dismissed all the petitions filed against the emergence of Governors Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and Aminu Masari (Katsina) as winners of the March polls in their states.

    The tribunals, in separate verdicts, said the petitions lacked merit and the complainants failed to prove their cases.

    All three petitions filed by the governorship candidates of the Action Alliance (Uche Nwosu); All Progressives Congress  (APC) (Hope Uzodinma ) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) (Ifeanyi Ararume),  against Ihedioha did not succeed.

    It was a unanimous decision by the tribunal.

    It was also a unanimous decision by the Nasarawa State Election Petitions Tribunal in throwing out the petition filed by Mr. David Ombugadu  of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the election of Gov. Sule in the March 9 Governorship polls.

    Delivering judgment Justice Abba Mohammed, Chairman of the Tribunal held that the PDP petition lacked merit.

    The tribunal said that the petitioner failed to prove the allegation of over voting, nonvoting and noncompliance with the electoral act.

    The tribunal also held that the petitioner failed to prove how collation of results was disrupted.

    “The burden of prove lay with the petitioner and he has failed to prove the allegations.

    Read Also: Tribunals uphold Delta, Abia, Taraba governors’ elections

    “The petitioner has failed to produce two sets of results (original and fake) to prove that the outcome was falsified in favour of APC candidate.

    “Hence he failed to prove that, we therefore, uphold the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” the tribunal held.

    Ombugadu, a two term House of Representative member challenged the election over alleged unlawful declaration of Sule as winner of the poll.

    The PDP candidate had also claimed that the polls did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

    He had also alleged intimidation of voters, unlawful cancellation of votes and malpractice during the election.

    Sule polled 327, 229 votes to defeat Ombugadu of PDP who scored 184, 281 votes in the election.

    Tribunal declines request to sack Masari

    The Katsina State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in a two-to one split decision yesterday declined the request by the petitioners to void the return of Aminu Masari of the All Progressive Party (APC) as the winner of the last governorship election in Katsina State.

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Senator Yakubu Lado, had, by their petition,  challenged Masari’s victory on the grounds that he falsified his age and academic qualifications in his credentials and affidavit submitted in the nomination form he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    They also argued that the governor was not qualified to stand for election and prayed the tribunal to, among others, void the declaration of Masari as the winner.

    The tribunal, in its majority judgment held that the petitioners failed to prove the allegation of substantial noncompliance to the electoral act in the conduct of the election.

    It also said Masari was qualified to contest the election for the office of governor and that the name “Aminu Bello Masari” is the same as “Aminu Masari.”

    It was further held, in the majority decision, that no law exists in the country that stipulates the number of names to be used in the filling of the INEC form for an election.

    But in her dissenting decision, tribunal chairman, Justice Hadiza Alijos, held in favour of the petitioners, allowed the petition and ordered that a fresh election be conducted in the state within 90 days.

    Justice Alijos, who was absent, had her dissenting judgment read by Justice A. B Omotoso, a member of three-man panel of the tribunal.

    She held that Masari was not qualified to contest the election because the name, “Aminu Masari” is different from “Aminu Bello Masari.

    The matter was highly contentious, forcing a change in the sitting venue of the state governorship election petition Tribunal from Katsina State to Abuja.

    On petitioners’ claim that Masari was not qualified, the tribunal held, in the majority decision, that the petitioners did not prove their case, adding that allegation made without proof can be denied.

    It also held that evidence of witnesses called by the petitioners from one to 50 is of no probative value since they confirmed that they gave their statements in Hausa language and the Hausa versions are not before the tribunal.

    The majority decision also held that the petitioners failed to prove the allegations as required by law and consequently dismissed their petition and affirmed the election of Governor Masari.

    The petitioners had claimed that Masari’s documentation with INEC which was tendered as exhibit to the tribunal showed that Masari and his father are 69 years old respectively.

    They also claimed that an affidavit, allegedly deposed to by Governor Masari’s father, Umaru Bello showed that while his son was given birth to on 29th May, 1950 which translates to 69 years in 2019, he (the father) was 51 years as at the time of the declaration on 9th August, 2001 which suggests that he is exactly 69 years in 2019, same age with his son.

    The petitioners also claimed that Masari provided conflicting dates of birth as shown on the primary school leaving certificate of Governor Masari which differs with that of the sworn declaration of age.

    He said, while the declaration of age showed that Masari was born in 1950, the primary certificate showed that he was born in 1951.

    Similarly, Senator Lado claimed that the same primary certificate in question belongs to one Aminu Bello; a Fulani by tribe while the respondent is known and addressed as Aminu Bello Masari, Hausa by tribe.

    In the same vein, Lado questioned a post graduate diploma presented to INEC by Governor Masari, noting that the certificate bears no logo or stamp of the institution, hence questionable.

  • Tribunal affirms Gov. Emeka Ihedioha’s election

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for Imo sitting in Abuja on Saturday affirmed the election of Gov. Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State.

    Delivering judgment, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Mallami Umar-Dogondagi, dismissed the petition of the candidate of the Action Alliance Party, Mr Uche Nwosu, for incompetence.

    In a unanimously decision, the three-member panel, also struck out  the petition of the All Progressive Congress, APC, candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma.
    Three petitions were filed by the governorship candidates of the Action Alliance (AA), All Progressives Congress (APC) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),  asking the tribunal to nullify the election of Mr Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the ground that he was unlawfully declared as the governor of the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The tribunal held that the three petitions challenging the declaration of Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), lacked merit.

    Read Also: Ihedioha: I have done my best in 100 days

    The petitioners, challenged the emergence of the PDP candidate as winner of the March, 9 governorship election on the grounds that the election was marred by irregularities.

    The tribunal held that candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Uche Nwosu, Ifeanyi Ararume of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, and  Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, failed to establish their petitions against governor Ihedioha.

    The tribunal held that the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law.

    Umar-Dogodaji stressed that Sen. Uzodinma of the APC was unable to prove his allegation that wrongful collation of results by INEC led to Ihedioha’s emergence as winner of the governorship election.

    NAN reports that Sen. Ararume and  Nwosu had approached the tribunal to cancel the election on the grounds that the declared winner did not meet the mandatory 25 per cent in two third of the local government areas in the state.

    On his side, Sen. Uzodimma, approached the tribunal and asked that he be declare him the rightful winner of the election, based on non-inclusion of results from 366 polling booths out of the INEC approved 388 booths in the state.

    NAN

  • Imo: Fresh moves to resolve Ihedioha, Okorocha feud

    As the face-off between Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State and the immediate former governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, deepens, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports that some concerned elders and associates have reached out to leaders within and outside the Southeast to broker peace

    IMO State political leaders and associates of both Governor Emeka Ihedioha and the immediate former governor of the state, Senator Rochas Okorocha, are worried that their previous efforts to resolve the face-off between the two political leaders have failed woefully. As a result, some of them have approached selected prominent Igbo elders and other influential leaders outside of the Southeast to help reach out to the rival political leaders. A source close to Imo State Government House, when contacted to confirm fresh negotiations to ensure a less confrontational way of resolving the misunderstanding however said on Friday that even if it is true that some elders and associates of the former governor may prefer a less confrontational approach to recover our looted resources, I am not aware of any formal meeting that has held in the last week where some leaders or elders specifically requested for a less confrontational way of resolving this matter.

    According to him, instead, I can tell you today that here in Imo, both our elders and youths are evidently satisfied with the way the matter is being handled.

    Another concerned politician, who will not want to be named, because, according to him, he worked closely with the two leaders in the past, however told The Nation during the week that “in as much as most Imolites will want Ihedioha to recover their land, property and money from Okorocha, they would prefer a more amicable settlement because the heat has become rather too much and therefore embarrassing to Ndimo. We are therefore seeking a more friendly way of resolving this matter. Of course, nobody is saying the current government should not recover all proven looted funds and other resources, but we would be happy if this can be achieved without the two leaders necessarily fighting each other in the public.”

    The source, an elderly statesman, confided that some unnamed groups have listed political leaders they want to reach out to intervene in the Imo crisis. “We want to reach out to elders and leaders within and outside Imo. For some reasons, I will not give out the names of the leaders from Imo we intend to reach out to. But outside Imo, we want to talk to some selected PDP and APC leaders in the southeast like Chris Ngige, Peter Obi, Ike Ekweremadu, Orji Uzor Kalu, Ohanaeze President and all the former Senate Presidents from the zone. They are others I will not like to name. We expect that they will persuade the two leaders to resolve this matter more amicably,” he said.

    But an estranged top official of former governor Okorocha’s state government, who said he is still being owed several months of salary arrears, said in a telephone chat on Thursday that “Governor Ihedioha’s aggression is understandable given that over N30b debt to officials, workers and contractors have already been ascertained. So, we can all understand why the new governor must recover stolen resources. If he fails to recover these resources, it will be very difficult for him and his government to pay up these embarrassing debts and still deliver dividends of democracy to Imo people. Perhaps more than money, I can tell you that Imo people are desperate to recover their land from Senator Okorocha. So, they have put Honourable Ihedioha under severe pressure to change the narrative. This explains why it has been difficult to persuade the governor to change tactics. Anyone who knows Okorocha knows that except Ihedioha adopts this tactics, it would be difficult for him to recover anything from the former governor,” the source said.

    THE GENESIS OF THE FACEOFF

    Although some observers have zeroed the origin of the current faceoff to allegations of mismanagement of state resources, levelled against Okorocha by Ihedioha’s government, some insiders claimed their rivalry could be traced beyond the last governorship election in which Ihedioha, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeated Okorocha’s candidate, Uche Nwosu.

    Analysts who make this assertion said the two were not best of friends when Ihedioha served as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Okorocha was the state governor then.

    The first tangible faceoff between them then was during the annual ‘Iri Iji Mbaise’ in 2014, at Ihedioha’s Mbaise community. At that event, there was controversy whether or not the then governor, Okorocha, should preside over the ceremony, given that Ihedioha was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives then. It took security men to douse the tension that would have degenerated into a major fracas.

    In 2015, when Ihedioha contested against Okorocha, who was seeking for re-election then, they literarily became major political foes. It is on record that the two rivals had to face a supplementary election. Insiders said even as a the sitting governor then, Okorocha had to enter into an alliance with aggrieved members of Ihedioha’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP), led by Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, who had vowed to stop Ihedioha, in order to win the election. Some observers said Ihedioha was embittered by the intrigues that led to Okorocha’s re-election then. The matter was not helped by the taunting of Okorocha’s aides and associates who used every opportunity to declare that Ihedioha had been retired politically.

    Given this icy relationship, no informed observer of Imo State politics was surprised that the emergence of Ihedioha as PDP’s candidate in the 2019 governorship election was to provide another opportunity to renew the old rivalry, especially when Okorocha’s support for Uche Nwosu caused a major crack in his All Progressives Congress (APC) camp.

    So, when Ihedioha eventually won the election and express determination to recover alleged looted state resources from Okorocha, everyone knew that it would be a long drawn battle. The exchange of words and allegations that preceded the handover only confirmed the fears of the associates of the former governor that Ihedioha would come after them.

    However, the faceoff assumed a very concrete dimension when Ihedioha formed several committees and panels, including the Committee on Recovery of Government Property, to investigate what transpired in Imo during Okorocha’s tenure in office.  For example, there was uproar when the Chairman of the Committee on Recovery of Government Property, Jasper Ndubuaku, who is also Ihedioha’s Special Adviser on Security Matters, was beaten up by youths sympathetic to Okorocha. The attack on Ndubuaku reportedly occurred when he and some of his officials attempted to enter the former governor’s private residence in search of government property, suspected to be hidden in there.

    When a video clip of the assault went viral on the internet, the state government declared Senator Okorocha a wanted person in the state.

    Uche Onyeaguocha, the Secretary to Imo State Government, who read the riot act ordered youths and women to apprehend Okorocha, anywhere he is seen in the state. Not long after that declaration, there were reports of some youths, who allegedly stormed the Sam Mbakwe Airport to lay ambush for Okorocha. It would be recalled that Okorocha had, according to reports also charged his supporters to resist harassment from government agents and protect their properties and businesses.

    Reacting to the arrest order, Okorocha in a statement issued by his media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo, said, “The arrest order is an open invitation to anarchy or fracas in the State because Imo people will always come out to defend Okorocha. It also shows insensitivity on the side of the government in the State because such arrest order was uncalled for and Onyeaguocha has no right to issue an order of that nature.

    “The order only adds to their continued disrespect for the former governor, which is a very bad precedent.”

    Onwuemeodo added: “Okorocha will be in Imo whenever he deems it necessary to come, especially when he had transformed the State as governor and left it better than he met it; and had invested heavily in the State long before his governorship with his wife and children also having their businesses relocated to Owerri because they believe strongly in the State. Nigerians of goodwill should disregard the arrest order. It became void on arrival.”

    The current allegations and counter allegations began shortly after Ihedioha’s emergence as the governor of the state when Okorocha said he left over N42 billion for Ihedioha’s government. Responding to the claim, ihedioha’s political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accused Okorocha of leaving the state with a liability of N300 billion.

    The state Publicity Secretary of PDP, Damian Opara, said Okorocha incurred over N100 billion debt and abandoned projects worth more than N200 billion across the state.

    “We have it on good authority that Rochas abandoned projects worth more than N200 billion all over Imo.

    “He abandoned the five-star hotels he was building in Okigwe and Owerri. He abandoned the 27 general hospitals he started. He abandoned the 15km rural roads he said he was going to construct.

    “What is he leaving behind? He is leaving behind a debt of N100 billion for Imo state. He is leaving over 90 months’ pension arrears. He is leaving the Imo civil servants in agony. He owes them for the past four years and their 48 months salaries were not paid in full.

    “He is talking of money we will get by counterpart funding. That was just a trap for the incoming administration, but we are going to overcome it,” Opara said.

    Alleging that huge resources of state resources were mismanaged under Okorocha’s government and pledging to recover looted funds and property, Ihedioha said during the Ahiajoku lecture at the eve of his inauguration that he would step on toes in his style of governance. He said he had to adopt this style of governance in order to save Imo.

    QUEST FOR A MORE PEACEFUL RESOLUTION

    Although the two rival politicians, Ihedioha and Okorocha have continued to flex muscles, some observers said it would be necessary to tone down their confrontational utterances and actions to avoid over heating the state. Dr Vitalis Uzoma, who resides in Okigwe, told The Nation that tension is here in Imo. “It will interest you to know that Imo traditional rulers are in the forefront in the current calls for probing of past administrations in Imo.

    Recently, even the former Chairman of Imo State Traditional Rulers Council, Eze Cletus Illomuanya, reportedly told some newsmen that Ndieze may embark on protest. That shows how people feel now. But knowing the full implication of political violence and disagreement, I join elders calling for a more peaceful relationship. That does not mean that the new governor should abandon the current moves to recover looted resources belonging to Imo people. He should do that without these public confrontations. The legal and administrative processes should be followed.”

     

  • Ihedioha explains benefits of partnering with American-based technology giant

    The Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has said that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Imo State and the American-based Exponential Launch Partners was aimed at establishing Technology Transfer Institute of Africa (TTIA) in the State.

    President of Exponential Launch Partners, Mr Manny Alia, said the initiative is aimed at transforming ideas to wealth.

    “The interest is to educate youths to find talents and big ideas, transform these ideas to companies built for the developing world and then fund the companies to generate value for entrepreneurs, investors and the society ultimately,” he said.

    Exponential Launch  African Partner, and Imo-born fintech expert, Chief Steve Uwazie who happens to be the pioneer Country Manager of IBM, stated that it is the scheme is the “birth of Africa’s Silicon Valley” in Africa, expressing excitement that it is starting in Owerri, Imo State.

    Read Also: Ihedioha vows to make Imo cleanest

    The Senior Special Assistant on Information Communication Technology and e-Governance to the Governor of Imo State, Abaa Chimaraoke  said the Imo governor  has the passion and commitment towards transforming Imo State into the epicentre of technology and innovation in the region.

    “Imo youths must be equipped with the skills for the future of work which is technology driven. The world’s richest men and companies today are mostly found in the technology space. Therefore, we are deliberate in our strategies and engagements towards harnessing the intellectual and creative energies that abound among Imo youths to create wealth and open Imo to the world,” he said.

    The Secretary to the Government of Imo State, Barrister Uche Onyeagucha, challenged the group to hit the ground running as the TTIA venture will open the doors for more investors to thrive in the area.

    The Special Assistant to the governor on Research, Ogu Bundu Nwadike said the introduction of TTIA in Owerri, Imo State is the first of its kind in Africa and will come with unquantifiable benefits.

    “This is because of the great potential in creating a generation of Imo people that are grounded in the workings of the very lucrative multipreneurship in the field of technology, particularly financial technology. The whole concept aligns very well with the electioneering campaigns promise of the governor that he will provide a lot of jobs and create wealth through the e-commerce and technology,” he said.

     

  • Aide outlines Ihedioha’s accomplishments in first 100 days

    The special assistant to the Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, on Research Ogu Bundu Nwadike has said that no less than 20 accomplishments have been recorded by the state government in its first 100 days.

    Nwadike was reacting to the claim by former governor Rochas Okrocha that Ihedioha’s government lacked direction and has nothing to show thus far.

    But Nwadike said in the ‘First 100 Days’ of Ihedioha’s government, he has repaired the faulty foundation upon which the state was being run under the previous government.

    “Right from the beginning, Governor Ihedioha set up a Transition Technical Committee (TTC), which worked and provided the guiding template and framework for the rebuilding of Imo State.

    “The TTC comprised some of the best intellectuals, technocrats and professionals. The TTC was very thorough in providing the compass by which the new administration will be navigated. I am privileged to know that the governor and his administration have decided to religiously abide by the step by step guide of the recommendation by the TTC,” he said.

    He added that the government believes in following the due process of the law in awarding contracts. He said on September 4, the government would flag off the rehabilitation of 16 major roads in the three senatorial zones of the state after the diligent procedure has been completed in their award.

    He argued that in the first 100 days, every segment of the state has been touched, including floods and erosion control, water scheme, education, health and security.

    He said the state civil servants now receive full payment of their salaries while the verification of pensioners who were last paid in 2015, would soon commence after the government completed verification of their status.

     

     

  • Ohanaeze youths warn Ihedioha over ‘arrest Okorocha order’

    The  Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council on Friday deplored the order by Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State that the people of the state should arrest his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha and warned that the statement was capable of sparking anarchy.

    Okorocha himself called the governor a tyrant for ordering his arrest..

    Ihedioha issued the order on Thursday after some youths believed to be  sympathetic to Okorocha allegedly  assaulted  the Chairman of the Recovery of Government Properties, Mr. Jasper Ndubuaku, while trying to invade a property of the former governor.

    Responding to the governor’s statement, the President General of the Ohanaeze Youths,  Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said it was a threat to democracy  and should be reversed immediately.

     He asked for the intervention of the South East Governors and other Igbo leaders in the current face-off between the Imo governor and his predecessor.

    His words: “We call for the immediate intervention of the South East Governors and Igbo leaders as we ask Imo State religious leaders, traditional rulers, State House of Assembly to join Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide to intervene.”

    Read Also: ‘Votes were allotted to Ihedioha’

    Besides, he asked the people of the state especially the youths to  “suspend any action pending the outcome of the peace parley with the duo,” while urging Okorocha to “stay away from the state at the moment until the dust settles down.”

    He added: “We believe that Governor Ihedioha will see the wisdom and rescind the decision to arrest Okorocha.

    “We urge him to suspend the activities of Jasper Ndubuka committee on the Recovery  of Government  Assets until the situation is under control.

     “We will not allow any South East State to be under the control of a sole administrator under State of Emergency.”

  • Youths stop ‘raid’ of Okorocha’s home

    THERE was tension in Owerri, the Imo State capital on Thursday, as angry youths prevented members of the government taskforce from breaking into the private residence of former Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    The government Recovery Committee, led by Jasper Ndubuaku, had raided the business places of Okorocha’s daughter and wife allegedly in search of stolen property belonging to the government.

    However, plans to raid Okorocha’s Spibat home, which houses the Rochas Foundation College of Africa, was met with stiff opposition as irate youths barricaded the entrance. They were said to have pounced on the committee chairman while his men escaped.

    It was also gathered that while the Ndubuaku-led committee was trying to enter Okorocha’s home, thousands of youths, believed to have been mobilised by the government, laid ambush for the former governor at the Sam Mbakwe Airport as he was reportedly visiting the state.

    But they dispersed after it was discovered that Okorocha was not returning to the state.

    Ndubuaku, who addressed reporters after the incident, said he was attacked by thugs camped at Okorocha’s compound.

    He said: “We went to search the compound with valid court order and inventory of the government properties we want to recover, but when we got to the gate, the security men collected the inventory and asked us to wait, while they check if the items were there.

    “While we were still waiting, some armed thugs came out from the compound and attacked us, I was shot severally and cut with machete but it could not pierce my body”.

    But Okorocha said the attempted invasion of his private home was a continuation of the harassment meted out to him and his family by the Governor Emeka Ihedioha-led administration.

    Read Also: Okorocha to supporters: resist attacks

    A statement by his media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo, reads: “Our attention has been drawn to accusations by Chairman of the Imo State Property Recovery Committee, Jasper Ndubuaku, that former Governor Rochas Okorocha recruited thugs to attack him and his team when they wanted to invade his private residence at Sipbat, Owerri.

    “But we want to say the former governor has not been in Owerri for days now. Ndubuaku stormed his private home at Sipbat with more than 700 thugs – not forgetting that he told the public he recruited 6,000 youths to help recover government property when the committee was set up.

    “They were about to surge into the Sipbat home when youths sympathetic to the former governor rushed to the place to stop them. Ndubuaku and his thugs were there without any court order. And they have failed or refused to publish whatever they think the former governor has in his possession which they think belongs to the government as we had demanded. They also slapped Okorocha’s daughter, Mrs. Uloma Rochas Nwosu, in one of their altercation.

    “Their hostility against the former governor has snowballed since they saw the mammoth crowd that received him on his first visit back since leaving office on May 29. Governor Ihedioha should pursue peace and ensure peace. Trying to engage his predecessor on all fronts isn’t advisable”.

  • Laying the markers for a new Imo

    It may seem early in the day but the signs are good; very good indeed. It is such an exhilarating feeling to observe all the good behaviours and best practices one had written about and wished for in the last three decades unfold before one’s eyes.

    It is not only that it is happening in one’s lifetime, but the fact that one is a participant observer. Not a better feeling in a long time one must confess. Again, the natural reaction is to argue that it’s too early to call but then, it is said that morning tells the day. And as Igbo say, a good farmer can tell a ripened corn by sight. You need not pinch the sheaf to know it’s ready for harvest.

    The blitzkrieg of activities of last week finally left me with no doubt that Imo is on to a big deal this time.

    First, an extraordinary Executive Council (Exco) meeting which had in attendance, paramount monarchs of Imo; industry leaders and heads of all the banks in the state was convened.

    Purpose of this expanded (and extended) Exco is to intimate critical stakeholders about Executive Order 005. This implies that Imo State henceforth adopts the Single Treasury Account (TSA). Apart from the federal government, Kaduna is the only other state in Nigeria which has adopted a similitude of the TSA.

    Hitherto, Imo was akin to an economic and financial gangland where the fastest to draw the gun kills the other. There were over 250 bank accounts purportedly operated by the state government: every ministry, department, agency and even individuals opened multiple and parallel accounts on behalf of government.

    State revenue was a bazaar with a plethora of collection contractors. It was largely collect and keep; finders-keepers. While Government House sat firmly on FAAC and lump-sum IGR takings, other denizens of the jungle scrambled over the remains of the feast. That was how come Imo State’s IGR record was a joke – about the least in the southeast. And Imo was supposedly an oil-producing state.

    In just a couple of weeks, the Dr. Abraham Nwankwo-led Imo State Financial Advisory Committee has its interim report ready. Nwankwo was Director-General of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) for about a decade. Prior to the DMO job, he had a stint as Senior Advisor in the World Bank. There couldn’t have been a better choice for the job.

    In just a couple of weeks again, the intractable Imo Pensions Scheme has been unraveled as the Pensions Review Committee in conjunction with consultants presented an interim report.

    Verdict: the last proper payment of pension was in 2014; no accurate database of the pension system in Imo State; payment of pension became a racket in the last four years as the system was managed by various contractors. It was a huge payday for jobbers while retired workers lived in pain and penury.

    It has therefore been decided that Imo must urgently migrate to electronic database platforms for her pension scheme. This means that there shall be electronic capture of pensioners. This means that no more carrying of appointment and retirement letters, no more tedious and expensive verifications, no more long queues and delays in payment of pensioners, no more fraud in the pension scheme and the ability of the government to plan and project its pensions outlay over many years is most salutary.

    This is the new regime that will kick in for Imo pensioners this year. Imo pensioners are indeed in for a good time under Governor Emeka Ihedioha. Contributory pension will follow after the system has been revamped and benchmarked under current best practices around.

    The committee on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is hard at work. The state health insurance scheme to cover the entire 305 wards of Imo State is being aggressively pursued. It is a tacky issue but not an insurmountable problem. As the bureaucratic knots are being carefully untied, the governor let it be known that “We have the political will to wring change in this state.” It is always a reassuring charge to members; especially hi-impact members of his team who are burning for a rapid reform of the odious status quo.

    Debris of the mis-governance of the past eight years is being removed on all fronts. The taps in Owerri city had been dry for many years. This has necessitated urgent rehabilitation of the Otamiri Water Scheme. It had been dysfunctional and abandoned for years. Work has commenced and taps will run again in Owerri soon.

    TSA, pension scheme, National Health Insurance Scheme, Public Water Supply, a return to the UN system through the return of UNICEF: If you didn’t see the connection here, what about the return of the World Bank Group to Imo State after a long hiatus?

    The immediate past administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha was of course not up and doing in paying counterpart funds; in addition, its officials were alleged to have sought to compromise the bank’s team which supposedly led to their retreat for about two years. It was nigh impossible dealing with the last government, they determined.

    Last week, a team from the World Bank/International Development Association led by Mr. Salisu Dahiru met with Governor Ihedioha in Government House Owerri. They were later to flag-off the Ezemazu-Urualla Gully Erosion control project in Ideato North. It is a project under the World Bank/NEWMAP programme on erosion and watershed management.

    Notwithstanding the shenanigans of past officials of government, the new government of Governor Ihedioha promptly paid up the counterpart fund of N500m required to kick in this N9.8b project, World Bank’s biggest in Nigeria. The leader of the World Bank team couldn’t hide his surprise: what they had chaffed over for about eight years has been resolved in about four weeks of a new government. It is a mark of leadership, a landmark achievement and it is unprecedented, he remarked.

    The markers are right and the signposts are pointing in the right direction. It’s about leadership and governance; it’s about the grundnorms and rule of law as a mantra for good governance.

    Consider these facts: no serious leader would govern a state without an Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. Though the cabinet is not emplaced, the governor sought leave of the state assembly to appoint one. And he reached for the very best of Imo in Nnawuchi Ndukwe, (SAN). They don’t come much better.

    Again, you can’t begin to run a modern government without a bureau for procurement. Thus one of the first offices set up by the Ihedioha administration is the Bureau for Public Procurement and Price Intelligence (BPPPI). And only the best mind in the land had to run it. The lot fell on Dr. Pascal Egwim, an ex- Regional Logistics Manager for Shell in Africa and a lead Procurement Consultant for Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Procurement; to name just a few accomplishments.

    There is Prof. Chudi Uwazurike, a multi-disciplinary academician, administrator and politician heading Diaspora affairs.

    Engr. John Obinna Chukwu, retired Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers has been virtually dragged on board; a technocrat with deep experience in public works. He will lead the massive road projects to be embarked upon soon as the rains recede.

    The best hands and minds are consulted daily for the Imo Rebuild project. Kanu Nwankwo was tapped for stadium main bowl re-grassing; Olympian sprinter, Charity Opara co-opted to see to new tartan track project. Prof. Jude Njoku and company sorting the miasma that has been made of university education in Imo and another team lead by Hon. Charles Enwererm and Prof Peter Okorie wringing the change in Imo technical and vocational education.

    Things we thought could never be done are already happening. LGA elections have been set for December this year; State election commission has already been put on notice by the governor. We must not exceed the statutory period stipulated by law for interim conditions to last in LGAs, the governor warned ISIEC

    Imo is about to bask in the euphoria of reason and commonsense, we are about to say goodbye to the era of tomfoolery and bare-faced brigandage; the markers are being rigged in the right places for the rebuild of Imo.

  • Ihedioha seeks workers’ support in revenue generation

    IMO State Governor Emeka Ihedioha has enjoined civil servants to assist the government in generating revenue to meet its obligations.

    The governor, who addressed the workers during an unscheduled visit to the secretariat, noted that all activities relating to Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was shrouded in scam in the past.

    Ihedioha was accompanied by his deputy Gerald Ironna, and Secretary to the State Government Uche Onyeaguocha.

    He said: “Preliminary findings show that our source of revenue is thin. Apart from FAAC, the only source of revenue is Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and I am certain that you have a duty to help the government generate revenue.

    “IGR in Imo was shrouded in scam. There were myriads of concessions; we have been trying to find out whether those concessions were made in public interest and if they are of any economic benefit to the state,” he said.

    The governor assured the workers that the government will pay full salaries as against the 80 per cent paid by the last administration.

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    “My government is willing and ready to pay your full salaries, but you have to match productivity with output. I know our indebtedness is huge, and I have been notified that there will be huge deductions from July. I am ready to adjust salaries, but you have to tell me how we can save for it. We decided to undertake this visit to have a firsthand appraisal of the state of facilities in this complex.

    “As civil servants, you need to be paid. I believe that a worker deserves his wages, but the money has to be generated. There is need for justification for the money we pay you.

    “I have come first, to access the facilities here and see whether they are conducive for you to give us return on investment. Secondly and more importantly, on your part, we have a contract with you as your employer.”

    The Head of Service, Ama Eluwa, promised Ihedioha that the workers will partner the government in its quest to resuscitate the civil service for better productivity.