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Okorocha derides predecessor over false allegations

By Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri
11 April 2016   |   1:55 am
Governor Rochas Okorocha has said his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim offered fake services to the people of Imo State throughout his four years in office.
Okorocha-21-2-15

Okorocha

Governor Rochas Okorocha has said his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim offered fake services to the people of Imo State throughout his four years in office.

Okorocha’s reaction was coming on the heels of a recent statement credited to Ohakim that his successor was battering the economy of the state.

Expressing dismay over Ohakim’s comment, which was titled: ‘Ohakim bombs Governor Okorocha … You’ve Destroyed Imo State’, the governor through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, decried his predecessor for his inability to substantiate his claims.

Okorocha, who claimed he has taken his time to read through the allegations by Ohakim said, “My predecessor had told his audience how I destroyed Imo but we couldn’t find any claim or allusion close to what he said.”

The governor said his predecessor spoke about his plan to install another Orlu man as successor in 2019 and the sacking of the Secretary to the Government saying: “My worry is how does the issued of succession mean destroying Imo, as alleged by my successor.”

According to him, “Let us, for the sake of this rebuttal, agree that the governor would prefer an Orlu man to succeed him in 2019, the follow-up question would be, how that could be interpreted to mean destroying the State and how does the governor’s dropping of the SSG also mean the destruction of the State?

“We want to state that if there had been one man who had paid the State and her people in counterfeit, it is Chief Ikedi Ohakim when he was the governor of the State from 2007 to 2011. If he had done well as governor, Imo people would have given him the mandate for second term.”

On the allegation of non-performance, the governor said “Ohakim had carefully avoided accusing the administration of non-performance otherwise he would have been challenged to explain to Nigerians what he achieved as governor in 4 years. This administration has several things to showcase as evidence of performance.”

“He (Ohakim), left Owerri’s master plan and other plans in the Government House, which he intended to return and collect. What Ohakim was able to achieve for the four years were only master plans that were never worked on. He was simply sharing the resources of the state to PDP members, which was very unfortunate,” he alleged.

However the spokesman to the governor said, “In the case of Governor Okorocha, the style is that once the master-plan is done work begins immediately. We don’t keep master plans waiting until we leave office that was why the former governor could not accuse the present administration of non-performance.”

He added that Okorocha’s administration does not take delight in insulting or attacking leaders in the state “we respect our leaders and treat them as such. But the more we try to avoid clashing with them, the more men like Ohakim provoked us to speak.

“By 2019, political parties will field their governorship candidates and it is left for Imo people to make their choice irrespective of the zones the contestants come from.”

He urged those seeking political offices in Imo to desist from whipping up zonal sentiment adding, “they should give way for those who can win their elections without zonal bias and who have something to offer in terms of result-oriented leadership.”

The governor however appealed to Ohakim to please “stop giving the impression that they were at war. He said, “Ohakim was governor in the State and should be treated with respect and regard. And he should avoid utterances and actions that would attract some uncomplimentary remarks from the government’s side. This is a passionate appeal.”

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