Group seeks probe over alleged looting of government facility in Imo community

… petitions NSCDC

People of Umuokpo village in Adakam Amumara autonomous community, Ezinihitte Mbaise council of Imo State have called for immediate investigation into the vandalisation and looting of installed government water project equipment in the area.

In a petition signed by a group, ‘Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre’, RULAAC, on behalf of the people and addressed to the Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Imo State Command, the Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma urged the security agency to wade into the matter with a view of recovering the stolen equipment and apprehending and prosecuting those involved.

The group stated that the facility was removed by an unknown company on the claim that the government of then Governor Rochas Okorocha sold it to them, hence the company came and lifted it without the knowledge of the villagers or their leaders.

Nwanguma said, “RULAAC is informed that the water project at Umuokpo village is one of the greater Owerri, Umuahia, Okigwe and Aba Water Schemes started by the then Governor of old Imo State Dr. Sam Onunaka Mbakwe in the 1980s which he could not complete before the Muhammadu Buhari coup which terminated the life of the republic. Jim Nwobodo also started the greater Enugu, Awka, Onitsha, Abakaliki and Nsukka Water Schemes but could not complete them before he lost power to late Chief Christian Onoh in the 1983 election. Today, most of those water schemes are yet to be completed, thus exacerbating the problem of acute water shortage in the zone.

“This gigantic water project initiated at huge financial cost was intended to provide pipe borne water to Mbaise and parts of Obowo. The project contains heavy and multi-billion Naira equipment that could not be dismantled and evacuated in one week.

He continued, “The people of the community are in serious doubt about the genuineness of the claim by a yet to be identified ‘company’ that government sold to them a government water project installed at huge cost.

“The more curious thing about this whole episode is how this ‘company’ could have waited for more than 8 years after the administration they claimed to have sold the project to them left office before they came to claim it.

“Could it be true that the administration of former governor Rochas Okorocha sold a government project to a private company? Who are the owners of this company? Is it also true that the current government under Senator Hope Uzodinma approved the sale of the project instead of completing it to serve the purpose that the project was conceived and initiated to serve? These are questions the community is looking for answers to!”

“RULAAC, on behalf of the community members, calls on the NSCDC to spare no effort to unravel the truth and if they find that the claims are false- as they seriously suspect- all those responsible should be brought to book, the already stolen equipment recovered and further stealing of the remaining ones prevented.” he added.