BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

OWERRI— Divergent views have started trailing the N174,316,400,000 presented last week to the State House of Assembly by Governor Rochas Okorocha.

The member representing Isiala Mbano in the State Assembly, Chief Simeon Iwunze, was not happy that the governor did not  mention the legislature in the 24-page document for the current fiscal year.

“We have been severally told that the administration is privatizing all government ministries, departments and agencies.
“Since this Assembly was not mentioned, we do not know if the legislature will also face the same process of privatization,” Iwunze reasoned.

Chief Iwunze, who reacted  said he was not  comfortable with the complete neglect of the Assembly in the document.
“I do not know whether it was deliberate that no mention was made of the State Assembly in the budget. It stands to reason that from the content of this document, nothing was allocated to the legislature,” Iwunze said.

Reacting also, Citizen Ikechukwu Ukaegbu pointed out that no mention was made about the State Judiciary in the 2012 budget, adding that the two missing links were  the other arms of government recognized by the 1999 Constitution.

However, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Obinna Duruji, described the document as “beautiful and capable of strengthening the good works already started by Governor Okorocha”.

Duruji applauded the planned relocation of Imo State University, IMSU, Owerri, to the governor’s country home, Ogboko in Ideato South local council area.

He insisted that there was nothing wrong in transferring IMSU to Ogboko, adding that some governors did it in the past and it won’t be out of tune if this administration moves the institution to Ogboko, a more spacious and serene environment for learning and teaching.