He’s discrediting me through stomach infrastructure—Okorocha

By Chinonso Alozie

Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State, yesterday, said he and his deputy, Gerald Irona, are still operating from makeshift offices.

Ihedioha

But in response, the immediate past governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha said the current government of Emeka Ihedioha was discrediting his achievements in the state.

Okorocha spoke in Owerri through his Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, while reacting to the declaration of a state of emergency on infrastructure in the state by Ihedioha’s administration.

Ihedioha recently closed down the fly-overs completed under Okorocha, claiming they were below needed standard.

Also, many of the roads done under Okorocha have been marked for rehabilitation “due to poor construction.”

Ihedioha

Speaking during a visit to the state secretariat yesterday, Ihedioha said the state’s internally-generated revenue, IGR, was still thin and that his government is still battling with the finances of the state, given that the immediate past government of Rochas Okorocha did not prepare for any handover.

The governor, while being conducted around the secretariat, was told by the Head of Service, Ama Eluwa that the secretariat was in a state of disrepair.

Ihedioha said: “31 days ago when we were sworn in, we met a hostile environment. We have been grappling with certain downs.

“We have been looking for an operational office because the offices that were made for the governor and deputy governor were in a state of disrepair and not ready for use.

“We went around with the Head of Service and permanent secretaries to assess the state of the facilities we met and everybody agreed that the offices were not in any state for us to utilise.

“We had to make an emergency and ad hoc arrangement; we moved into the Odenigbo Quarters where we quickly put things together for us to attend to the business of governance.

“We have to put together a makeshift office for me and my deputy.”

IGR

On Imo State IGR,  the governor said: “What we have found is that our sources of revenue in the state are very thin. Apart from federal allocation, the other revenue is the IGR, but you know better than I that the IGR is being conducted in such a manner that people are doing their things.

“Officers of the state have mortgaged their responsibilities in a myriad of concessions. We want to find out whether those concessions were made in public interest and if they are of economic benefits to the state?

“You are civil servants and have to be paid, but money has to be generated. I was telling the Head of Service that there is a need for justification of the money we pay you. That is why I have come.

“We want to know whether the facilities are conducive for you to give us return on investments. Secondly, it is a contract. We employ you and we pay you on a monthly basis. So we expect something from you. We expect services.

“We are still grappling with handover up till now and still do not know where we are. We are still battling with our finances because we don’t want to jump in and start doing something we do not know about. Government is a continuum, but you have to tell me this is where you stopped.”

On her part, the Head of Service, Ama Eluwa, said: “Upon assumption of office a month ago, I noticed that all the secretariat offices were leaking. I did a report and went further to do a video presentation.

“It is attributed to the quality of the roofing sheets.”

Stomach infrastructure

But former governor Okorocha who spoke through Mr. Onwuemeodo in reaction  to the declaration of state of emergency on infrastructure in the state by Ihedioha’s administration, said: “The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s government in the state, with Chief Emeka Ihedioha as governor, has not only made mockery of governance in the state but has also made the state to look unserious by declaring a state of emergency on infrastructure and the story to that effect has been trending in the media.

“It is either the PDP government in the state does not understand the operational meaning of infrastructure and state of emergency or they are deliberately investing in deceit or what they usually call propaganda.

“Or at best, they have declared a state of emergency on stomach infrastructure.

“One area the immediate past administration, which Senator Rochas Okorocha led as governor, invested heavily in and scored 95 per cent was in the area of infrastructure.

“Nigerians who had either visited the state or who had followed events in the state during the period in question would agree that Okorocha did very well in the area of infrastructure among other areas.

“What the current government needs to do is to maintain Okorocha’s huge investments in the area of infrastructure. In fact, they are talking about stomach infrastructure but didn’t know how to say it out. This deceit is getting at people’s nerves.

“They even tried to discredit the two fly-overs, the two tunnels, the hospitals, the International Conference Centres, the new universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, schools, the roads, Otamiri Water Project, the new markets, the in-land roads, the new estates and others too numerous to mention  but failed.”