…as Imo goes into frenzy over looming cabinet reshuffle

By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI—GOVERNOR Rochas Okorocha has confirmed speculations that he will reshuffle his cabinet any moment from now.

Okorocha, disclosed this while briefing journalists yesterday in Owerri, as part of activities marking this year’s Democracy Day.

Vanguard had exclusively carried the story of the imminent shake-up of the State Executive Council, following an intra-party crisis of confidence rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

“I am definitely going to rejig my cabinet for the final onslaught. I will bring in new blood into the system and drop those that no longer have anything to offer,” Okorocha said.

Chief Rochas Okorocha

Strong indications of a looming cabinet shake-up in Imo State, emerged weekend, as Governor Rochas Okorocha is said to have “started sieving his core loyalists from his appointees”.

The alleged impending action, Vanguard gathered yesterday, started since the quest for the Governor’s successor heightened in the past week.

Currently, the All Progressives Congress, APC, family in Imo State, has been dichotomized into the anti- and pro-Okorocha groups.

It was also gathered that the anti-Okorocha group is further split by either zonal sentiments or the gubernatorial personalities.

Already, the likes of Chief Uche Onyeagucha, who was Okorocha’s appointee, has not only resigned his appointment publicly, but also went further to point out the governor’s “sins”.

Another appointee of Chief Okorocha, told Vanguard in strict confidence of  Ifeanyi Araraume’s gubernatorial ambition.

Feelers from a source in Government House, Owerri, had  said that “the governor appears not too favourably disposed to hand over to Araraume.” Continuing, the governor urged those preaching zonal political engineering in the state, to stop dreaming.

“Those thinking of zoning are completely uninformed of today’s political realities. Those thinking of zoning are educated illiterates. As far as Rochas Okorocha is concerned, zoning is dead in Imo”, he said.

On the planned local government election scheduled for September this year, Okorocha said that he has been briefed on the cost implications of the poll.

“I have been briefed on the cost implications of the local government election. I have come to realize that it is very expensive to execute it. I am even thinking of using Option A4”, Okorocha said.