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Tag: Imo State

  • I won my elections without support of ‘big names’ – Okorocha

    Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, on Saturday said that none of the big names in Imo state Politics supported his governorship aspiration in 2011 and in 2015 respectively.

    He said he won the elections without the backing of any of the big men the state.

    The Imo governor also disclosed that he contested and won both elections not on the basis of zoning or support of godfathers but on the premise of what Imo people believed he could do with the position.

    Okorocha spoke weekend, when the leaders of Ideato South Local Government visited him at the Government House Owerri, to assure him of their loyalty.

    They said that they would follow any political direction he takes in 2019, Stating that the governor is the “pivot on which their own Political interest rotates”.

    According to the governor, “when I came in 2011 and decided to run for the governorship election on the platform of APGA, there was nothing on ground and the State Chairman of the Party was more than 75 years old an indication that people were not keen in the Party”.

    He Continued, “In 2011 Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chief Arthur Nzeribe, Dr. Mrs. Kema Chikwe, Chief Hope Uzodinma, Chief Achike Udenwa, Emeka Ihedioha, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume were either in PDP or ACN. None of them was in APGA, but I confronted them and God gave us Victory over them and we defeated an incumbent”.

    He stated further “the Political battle in 2011 and 2015 was all mine and my God and the poor masses of Imo State. Yet, God gave us victory over them. When I visited late Chief  Odimegwu Ojukwu, I excepted that he would come and raise my hand as the candidate of the party, but he could not do so because he fell sick before the time. Only God raised my hand and we won”.

    He Continued “When I also told my people, about my intention to vie for the Seat of governor, most of them were saying that it was not the turn of Orlu Zone. But I told them that my case was different. And since I became governor, I have never segregated against Owerri, Orlu or Okigwe zone. Infact, I have worked in Owerri much more than any of my predecessors had done and no Owerri indigene has done what I have done in Owerri”.

    His words, “don’t also forget that in 2015, all influential politicians in the State increased in number and they were all in PDP. They were backed with Federal might, with all the security agencies and INEC working for them. Yet, here we are today,

    “In 2019 it will be easier. We are more now. Your unity as it is now shows that we are ready for the 2019 elections. My advice is that you must strive to remain united because any crack can allow enemies or detractors into the fold. I assure you that Victory will surely be ours as long as we are standing on God’s side,

    “Zoning to them, is that Political manipulative tendency which allows the opportunist cabal to remain in Power at the detriment of the ordinary masses. So, let no one deceive you. Please remain focused and united on this course”.

    On Uche Nwosu, the governor said his endorsement is a step in the right direction, and assured that he will never disappoint Imo people, adding that he will do well as governor.

  • Igbo monarch rejects Biafra, says secession agitation a fraud

    A traditional ruler from Mbaise in Imo State, Eze Nwabueze Soronnadi Ezewiro, has distanced himself from the struggle for Biafra, describing the agitation as a fraud.

    Addressing reporters in Calabar, the monarch said the only institutional body that represents Igbo people all over the world, is Ohaneze Ndigbo.

    His words, “I am His Imperial Majesty Eze Nwabueze Soronnadi Ezewiro from Mbaise in Imo State as well as the Lord Mayor of the Igbo Nation and in Diaspora, Eze Agaba-Idu 1 of Igbo kingdom. Biafra is a fraud. Whichever way they take it but the truth has to be said anyway, the only institutional body that represents Igbo people all over the world is Ohaneze Ndigbo, not Biafra. Let me ask you one thing, when Odumegwu Ojukwu died, he was a General, he was given a state burial during the time of Jonathan, you saw in Nnewi that day that we, the Ohaneze Ndigbo were making our own preparation but the Presidency was doing the burial. His body was carried by Nigerian soldiers, so where are the Biafran soldiers to carry the body?

    “When they’re talking about Biafra, is Biafra only Imo, Abia, Anambra Enugu and Ebonyi states? No. It should be South-South, South-East all incorporated because these are the old eastern region excluding Edo. Have you seen anybody from those South-South states supporting Biafra?

    “We will put this thing on the table, get the Presidency, put our heads together and discuss this thing. But you can’t get it by force as if you are inciting to segregate from Nigeria federation.

    “The Biafran thing as much as I am concerned is dead gone. It was in the mortuary, it has gone to the cemetery. Its dead, there’s nothing and there would not be anything like Biafra.”

    The monarch also said the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, cannot impose his son in law as governor on the people in next year’s general election.

  • NDDC to complete 25km road project in Imo – Ekere

    The Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC ) plans to complete 25-km dual carriage way to connect Imo and Rivers states, an official said.

    Mr Nsima Ekere, the Managing Director of NDDC, gave assurance while inspecting the road project, according to a statement by the commission’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Ibitoye Abosede, on Monday in Port Harcourt.

    Ekere said the project would run through Port Harcourt Owerri junction-Avu-Adapalm-Etekuru-Ohaji Egbema and terminate at Ogba Egbema Local Government Area in Imo.

    He said: “The road is very important project for the NDDC and the Niger Delta. It will enhance regional integration which is one of the things the current things that we are passionate about.

    “Also, the expansion of the road means that the project will cumulatively amount to constructing 50-km of road.

    “This is so because 25-km of the existing road will be totally reconstructed,” he said.

    According to the statement, Ekere also inspected construction of internal roads in Umueze, Ehime Mbano and Obolo, Isiala Mbano local government areas in Imo.

    The NDDC boss said that NDDC would construct other undisclosed internal roads spanning four kilometres across the two local government areas.

    “We are committed to building sustainable infrastructure in the region. We don’t want to build roads that will fail after six months.

    “If we are able to complete one kilometre road, then it should be a solid road infrastructure that will last for a long time

    “We are happy with the contractor working on the Obolo-Umueze road for taking measures to guarantee quality delivery considering the challenging terrain of the region,” he said.

    The NDDC boss urged the people to continue to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to develop rural communities in the Niger Delta.

    According to the statement, Eze Igu, the paramount ruler of Umueze 1, thanked the commission for building internal roads in the area.

    “By fixing our roads, the NDDC board and management have shown us love and has given us hope and confidence on the administration of President Buhari,” he said.

    NAN

  • Imo CP seeks stiffer punishment for convicted cultists

    The Commissioner of Police in Imo, Mr Chris Ezike, has called for stiffer punishment for convicted cultists to check the menace especially crime its roots.

    Ezike made the call in an interview with the News men on Monday in Owerri.

    He said the punishment stipulated by Imo State law on cultism-related offences has not in any way helped in fighting cultism.

    The commissioner advised the state lawmakers to look into the law with a view to amendment where necessary.

    He explained that cultism is where all the crimes and social vices are rooted, adding that crime fighting cannot be completed without serious war on cultism.

    “Cultism is the mother of all crimes because once one is initiated into any cult group the person becomes a criminal automatically.

    “He will immediately seek to own a gun and thereafter becomes vulnerable to all manner of criminality,” he said.

    Read Also: Ahamba: Imo governor not exclusive right of Owerri Zone

    Ezike expressed worries that when a cultist was arrested due to the prescriptions of the law, the person will be given bail in court when arraigned and will automatically go back to the game.

    “We are really worried that our men will round up cult members even at the scene of carrying out initiation and when they are arraigned in court they will be granted bail and tomorrow you still encounter the same group,” he said.

    He said the law should make cultism-related offences unbailable so that culprits could stand their trials from remand homes.

    The CP also said that police have subdued kidnappers in Imo, while crime rate has drastically reduced.

    The News men recalled that Imo State Government had passed a vote of confidence on Ezike and rated him high on crime fighting recently as he marked one year in office in Imo.

    NAN

  • Imo: Joy of free education

    For three consecutive years, Imo State has topped the list of applicants for the Joint Administration and Matriculation Board (JAMB). This cheery development simply means that the number of the state’s indigenes seeking higher education is on a steady rise.

    Worthy of note is the fact that over 80 per cent of this number choose the Imo State University annually as their university of first choice. From far and near, all Imo State indigenes seeking admission are headed to the state-owned university. Why? It is tuition-free for indigenes.

    This also applies to other state-owned tertiary institutions including the Imo State Polytechnic Umuagwo, and the newly established State College of Education in Ihitte Uboma, among others.

    The reason for this enhanced interest in education is not farfetched, the state government operates free education programme that covers from primary school to university, first of its kind in the country.

    Seven years ago, the state governor Rochas Okorocha, on assumption of office, announced the free education programme, which was dismissed with a wave of the hand. But in spite of the initial setbacks and bureaucratic bottlenecks, the state government has sustained and improved on the free education programme in the last seven years with remarkable results.

    According to available statistics, apart from the number of indigenes applying for admission into the state-owned university annually, the population of the state’s primary and secondary school pupils has skyrocketed from 276,000 in 2011 to more than one million in 2017.

    Governor Okorocha attributed the unprecedented rise in enrolment of students and pupils in the state’s school system to the free education policy.

    Apart from initiating the free education policy, the state government has also built hundreds of new schools and renovated existing but dilapidated school buildings and other infrastructure across the state.

    The state governor once said, “Education is key and education is power. We must build this generation and the era of a new Imo and a new Nigeria starts with this generation. It appears to me that we can no longer get it right with our generation, but we can get it right with this generation. So, all emphasis must be made on how to better the lives of these young ones through education.  Education remains the light, education remains the power, education remains the key and education put together is life”.

    He stated further that, “I think that education is one commodity that every child must have and every child is entitled to, despite the economic situation we face in our nation. It is of a truth that we have placed so much emphasis on education and we have built several Schools.

    Our School population has grown in such a geometric progression, but I’m not satisfied yet. I will only be satisfied when every child in Imo State has access to free and qualitative education”.

    According to the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Acho Ihim, the free, qualitative and compulsory education programme in Imo State was dismissed by all past governors as an impossible task, “but the reality of the programme today and its attending benefits for our people is a testimony that the Okorocha-led administration has done well”.

    He assured that the House will continue to support the programme by making legislations to back it even after the expiration of the present administration, “the benefits of the free education programme cannot be wished away or turned into an object of politics. Our major industry in this state is education and the free education programme has given it a fillip”.

    Also commending the programme, some of the benefitting students, noted that it is the best that has ever happened in the history of the state.

    Miss Peace Emeruo, a graduate of Industrial Chemistry from the Imo State University, said, “I was living in Makurdi with my mother who is a widow when we learnt that Imo State University is tuition-free for indigenes. At first I did not believe, I thought it was one of those politics but my mother encouraged me to choose the school when I applied for JAMB. Today the rest is history as they say. I am a graduate and my immediate younger brother is in 200 level studying Mass Communication. This is at no cost to our poor mum”.

  • 2019: Imo Speaker, 19 others endorse Nwosu

    …why we are backing Okorocha’s Chief of Staff- Lawmakers

     

    The Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Acho Ihim on Wednesday led 19 other members of the House, under the aegis of Team Nwosu, to endorse the governorship ambition of the Chief of Staff to the governor, Chief Uche Nwosu.

    Ihim who read the position of the Lawmakers  during a press conference at the Kelvic Suites in Owerri, insisted that Nwosu remains “the best and most plausible panacea to the issue of disjointed and often abandoned projects syndrome that has hitherto constituted a clog in the wheel of progress in most instances”.

    He argued that the decision of the 20 Lawmakers to ensure that Nwosu takes over from Rochas Okorocha as the next governor was taken in the overall interest of the state, adding that, the legacies of the Okorocha-led administration “are so good and too numerous to be left in the hands of those who may not have any inkling of what they are, where they are or how to sustain them”.

    According to the Speaker, “in a bid to ensure continuity of the numerous democratic dividends of the Rescue Mission Administration in Imo State, 20 members of the Imo State House of Assembly have affirmed their resolve to project, support and back in its entirety Ugwumba Uche Nwosu as the next governor of Imo State after His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha come 2019”.

    He continued that “the Lawmakers singled out for mention the reality of the free, qualitative and compulsory education programme in Imo State which virtually all past governors and even the present crop of those jostling for governorship of the state to have said is an impossible task. Our people deserve Ugwumba Uche Nwosu for a continuation of this people-oriented policy to bring succor and hope for the poor and rich in the state”.

    The Lawmakers therefore resolved as follows; “that we the Honourable members of the Imo State House of Assembly recognize unequivocally Owelle Rochas Okorocha as the supreme leader of the ruling party in Imo State, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “That as Executive Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has done exceedingly well in governance hence deserves our commendation as representatives of our various constituencies.

    “That as an integral part of the Owelle success story, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu is eminently qualified to paddle the canoe of the development of Imo State and will continue in the already established successes of the Owelle administration.

    “That we support unequivocally the governorship aspiration of Ugwumba Uche Nwosu. We therefore call on all Imolites everywhere to ensure that this aspiration comes to fruition”.

    the Lawmakers that signed the endorsement letter, were Hon Ozuruigbo Ugonna (Nwangele), Chinedu Offor (Onuimo), Hon Uju Onwudiwe (Njaba), Hon Ngozi Obiefula (Isu), Hon Max Odunze (Orsu), Hon Ikechukwu Amuka (Ideato South), Hon Arthur Egwim (Ideato North) and Hon Kennedy Ibe (Obowo).

    Others were Hon Nkem Nzeruo (Oru East), Hon Lugard Osuji (Owerri Municipal), Hon Henry Ezediaro (Oguta), Hon Chukwuemeka Loyd ( Owerri North), Hon Victor Onyema (Owerri West), Hon Uche Agabige (Orsu), Hon Chika Madumere (Nkwerre) , Hon Uche Ejiogu (Ihitte Uboma, Hon Emma Orie (Ohaji-Egbema) and Hon Lawman Duruji (Ehime Mbano).

     

  • Imo Deputy Governor still in Office

    Contrary to reports that the Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere has absconded from his office over alleged security threat, The Nation investigations revealed that the deputy governor is still in his office carrying out his constitutional duties.

    When our correspondent visited his office off Orlu road, the deputy governor was said to have driven away for a field job somewhere in the state.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Mr. Uche Onwuchekwa, described the said report published in one of the national dailies, as unfounded and misleading.

    He stated that his principal comes to his office at the Government House on daily basis and still engages in field duties any time the need arises.

    According to him, “the deputy governor has not fled and will not flee from his office. The said report is a mere imagination of the author and does not in any way reflect the situation on ground. The Deputy Governor is elected and cannot be intimidated to abandon his office or constitutional duties”.

     

  • Imo 2019: 20 lawmakers endorse Nwosu for governor

    Twenty  out of the 27 members of the Imo State House of Assembly on Friday endorsed the governorship ambition of the Chief of Staff to the Imo state governor, Uche Nwosu.

    Nwosu is married to the daughter of the state governor, Rocha’s Okorocha.

    The lawmakers said they took the decision to back Nwosu’s ambition after he was endorsed by the state governor.

    Briefing journalists on the position of the lawmakers, Friday, Hon Henry Ezediaro, member representing Oguta Local Area, stated that 20 members of the House appended their signatures for the endorsement of Nwosu after a meeting presided by the Speaker of the State Assembly, Acho Ihim.

    Ezediaro added further that “all the lawmakers involved have earlier led their constituents before Governor Rochas Okorocha at the government House to endorse Nwosu”.

    Highliting more on the reasons for supporting Nwosu, Ezediaro said, “Uche Nwosu was the pioneer candidate of APC in 2014, the party endorsed him to run for governor, he has not changed since then.

    “When  Governor Okorocha came back after he ran for President, APC leaders came together to say let’s give the ticket to Okorocha , the young man was loyal and said OK, what the young man did, son in-law or no son in-law , he would have said no ,at worst Okorocha will take back his daughter, what if he divorce his wife tomorrow, will that now qualify him to run for election? .

    The lawmaker who is also the Director General of Ugwumba Mandate, a campaign organ of Nwosu, added that the 20 lawmakers had endorsed Nwosu to consolidate the legacies of Governor Okorocha.

    He gave the names of the lawmakers in support of the endorsement as; Ugonna Ozuruigbo representing (Nwangele) Lugard Osuj, former Majority leader(Owerri municipal) Chukwuemeka Loyd (Owerri North) Ekenna Nzerue(Oru east) Innocent Egwim(Ideato North) Obinna Egu (Ngor Okpala) Ngozi Obiefula(Isu) and Uju Onwudiwe (Njaba).

    Others were   Victor Onyewuchi (Owerri west) Uche Agabiga(Orsu) Emma Orie(Ohaji/Egbema) Ikechukwu Anwunka (Idea to south) Henry Ezediaro(Uguta) Roman Duruji (Ehime Mbano) and Marcel Odunze (Orlu).

  • Revealed; Why Imo Catholic Archbishop is against Okorocha, APC

    Revealed; Why Imo Catholic Archbishop is against Okorocha, APC

    The main reason for the faceoff between the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha and his erstwhile ‘spiritual father’ and the Archbishop of the Owerri Diocese, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna has been uncovered.

    It will be recalled that the Archbishop played a prominent in the emergence of Okorocha as the state governor in 2011 after he led a damaging campaign against the then Imo State governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, who was accused of beating a Reverend Father, an allegation he was later absolved of.

    The cleric and the Imo governor had enjoyed a father-son relationship after he was sworn-in as governor in 2011 but things fell apart shortly after then.

    In 2015, the Archbishop had threatened to stop the re-election of the governor, who he said had failed to deliver on his electoral promises. He even went ahead to mobilize the Catholic against the governor.

    Since then the cleric had not made pretences about his hatred for the Okorocha-led administration and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The face-off got to a climax recently during a requiem mass at St. Michaels Catholic Church Ngwoma-Obube in Owerri North Council Area of the state when the Archbishop openly castigated Okorocha’s administration and told the people to vote out the APC and whoever the governor is supporting for any position in 2019.

    Read Also: Imo Assembly under fire for rejecting LG autonomy bill

    This almost resulted in a bloody clash between APC and PDP supporters that accompanied their different principals to the event, which also had the governor’s wife, Nkechi Okorocha, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Uche Nwosu and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Acho Ihim in attendance.

    Since then the media has been awash with news of assault on the Archbishop and being a predominantly Catholic state, the news spread like wild fire, even though the Cleric had denied that he was not physically assaulted as reported.

    Many people had erroneously attributed the feud between the governor and the cleric to the Archbishop’s insistence that the governor should pay the arrear of pension owed the pensioners.

    But the Nation findings revealed that the governor incurred the wrath of the Archbishop, when he refused to fund Catholic mission schools in the state, a situation that did not go down well with the cleric.

    After the return of the mission schools to the Churches in the state, the Governor Okorocha had given the Catholic Church N400 million takeoff grant but refused to part with further money, arguing that the state cannot afford to be funding all the schools belonging to the Churches, coupled with the fact the state is running a free education programme.

    But the Cleric dismissed the governor’s reason as a mere excuse, accusing him of being ungrateful to the Catholic family after the key role they played in his emergence as governor in 2011.

    The Archbishop according to investigations was alleged to be further infuriated when the governor turned down his request to post a Reverend Father as the Chaplain of the Government Chapel, which the governor said is interdenominational and could not be headed by a Catholic Priest.

    However when contacted, the Director of Communication of the Owerri Archdiocese, Rev. Father George Nwachukwu, said that Archbishop has nothing personal against the governor but is fighting on behalf of the people of the state.

    According to him, “the governor started very well in 2011 and he had a good relationship with the Archbishop until he deviated and the people started crying, the Archbishop being a representative of Christ on earth, stood up in defense of the people and there is nothing personal about that”.

    He continued that, “and on the issue of funding of Catholic schools, we have no problem about that the schools are doing well”.

    Also commenting on the alleged assault of the Archbishop by APC supporters, Nwachukwu, restated that the Archbishop was not physically assaulted, “I have told all the journalists that called me that the Archbishop was not physically assaulted but was only verbally assaulted and in this our part, we take verbal assault on such a person seriously”.

     

     

  • Imo Assembly under fire for rejecting LG autonomy bill

    Imo Assembly under fire for rejecting LG autonomy bill

    The Imo State House of Assembly has come under severe criticism from the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and other stakeholders for voting against the Local Government Autonomy Bill.

    NULGE particularly lampooned the lawmakers for rejecting the Autonomy Bill after assuring the union that they were going to support the bill.

    Nine states including Niger, Benue, Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa, Cross River, Bauchi and Bornu have so far voted in support of the bill, while Imo and Edo voted against.

    In a statement signed by the secretary, Jamilu Mustapha, the Union, accused the legislators of betraying the trust and confidence reposed in them by their constituents by standing against the the Autonomy Bill.

    According to the statement, “it is most unfortunate that the Imo state House of Assembly decided to unknowingly or unknowingly to sell their birthrights. They have decided to remove the ladder through which they climbed up which is very shameful. It is unbelievable to hear that the Imo State House of Assembly rejected the historical bill for full autonomy for Local Government Councils”.

    Read Also: ‘You cannot govern Imo’, Okorocha blasts Araraume

    It continued further that, “this singular act will continue to retard the development of Local Government Councils and majority of our people who are are the grassroots will continue to suffer”.

    The statement also added that, “the leadership of the Union was disappointed by the action considering the advocacy visit it paid to the House on the matter and the assurance given by the Honourable members that they will go with the aspiration of the people that voted them into their coveted seats”.

    The Union however called on the legislators to recant their earlier stand and vote in support of the Autonomy Bill, adding that, “we are calling on the legislators to rekindle the trust the people bestowed on them by revisiting the bill and vote Yes for full political, financial and administrative autonomy for Local Government Councils songs to gladden the heart of Imo state people and Local Government workers in the state”.

    It warned that, “in the event that the Honourable members fail to do the expectations of the people that voted them into their exalted positions, they should be rest assured that 2019 elections are fast approaching and they have to account for their stewardship as representatives of their constituencies”.