Okorocha accepts to receive protesters at government house July 3

Assembly passes budget, to curb herdsmen attack on Imo poly farm
The Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has accepted to receive the planned one million-man match to protest against what they described as undemocratic rule in the state.

The protest, which has been widely publicised in the media, particularly the social media, would be led by a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Kelechi Nwagwu

The one million-man match, according to the convener, is to protest the widespread sufferings of the Imo people under the Okorocha administration.

Okorocha said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo that he would receive the protesters at Nick Banquet Hall, Government House, Owerri, where he would give account of his stewardship in the last six years.

He said a former Speaker of the State House of Assembly under the past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, Kelechi Nwagwu, had inundated the media with threats of organising a one million-man march protest on Monday, July 3, 2017.

However, the governor has asked security agencies to allow the protesters carry out their fundamental human rights, stressing that the era of sharing money and Gala Night was gone for good.

Onwuemeodo said in the statement that Okorocha was confident that his achievements surpassed that of the PDP in its 12 years reign in the state.

Meanwhile, the Imo House of Assembly yesterday passed the 2017 appropriation bill of N116 billion, as against Okorocha’s N131 billion “Budget of Consolidation and Continuity 11,” presented to the house on December 23, 2016.

Speaker of the House, Acho Ihim, approved recurrent expenditure of N53.8 billion and capital expenditure of N77. 4 billion. Education received the highest allocation of N11. 2 billion.

A clean copy of the bill would be presented to Okorocha for his assent.

However, the House also moved a motion urging the state government to wade into the incessant herdsmen attacks on the Imo Polytechnic, Umuagwo.

They urged the government to use every necessary measure to prevail on the herdsmen to stop destroying the institution’s farmland in which it runs an incubation centre in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).