Imo denies allegations of misappropriation of funds

THE Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha has said that all the funds allocated to the state since inception of his administration more than three years ago have been justifiably  used, contrary to the claims made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), governorship  candidate and  Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha.

  In a statement signed by Okorocha’s Senior Special Assistant, Media, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, and made available to The Guardian on Thursday, the governor  also challenged the  past PDP governments in Imo to show what the funds were used for, especially  the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDCs) funds.    

 The statement reads: “The attention of the Imo State government has been drawn to the publication of the purported Federal Allocations to the Local Government Areas in the state under the Rescue Mission Government of His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha by Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state through his campaign organization.

  We do not intend to join issues with Hon. Ihedioha on the allocations he published but suffice it to say that, as House of Representatives member for twelve (12) years, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives at the moment, he should have known more than most people in the state that allocations do not get to the state as published.  Heavy deductions are always done at source.

Even at that, there is no amount of allocation the government of Rochas Okorocha has got that has not been justified.  

 The free education programme is capital intensive and that is why the Federal Government cannot do it and out of the 36 states in the country, it is only Imo state that is running free and qualitative education at all levels. 

The Okorocha government has monumental infrastructural development, massive road construction, visible empowerment programme, aggressive renovation of schools, the erection of 305 up-stair school buildings in the 305 wards in the state, 27 ultra modern hospitals in the 27 local councils just to mention but a few.

 And since it is always believed that whoever wants to go to equity must do so with clean hands, Hon. Ihedioha should also, in the same manner he published what he felt was the local government allocations to the state in less than four years of Okorocha’s administration also publish the same local government allocations to the state for the twelve (12) years the PDP governed the state, and also itemize what they did with the allocations so that Imo people can be in the right perspective to judge and know those who actually betrayed the state.

  Hon. Ihedioha should also publish all the billions of naira he has collected for constituency projects for the 12 years he has been in the House of Representatives and also list where the constituency projects for which he collected the billions are situated for people to go and see them.

  Apart from all these, Hon. Ihedioha should also publish how much NDDC has appropriated for the state for projects in the past sixteen years, publish who collected the billions and where the projects which the billions were meant for, are located for Imo people to also go and see.

 The PDP governorship candidate should also list the Federal Government’s projects captured,  how much that had been released for the projects and who collected the money and where the projects which such monies were allocated for, are sited for Imo people to equally go and see.

  At the end of all these, it is left for Imo people to know those who love the state and those who are enemies of the state, but who also want power this time to continue from where they stopped their exploitation in 2011.  But the God Imo people worship, will not allow that to happen.”