When Owelle Rochas of Okorocha was the governor of Imo State between 2011 and 2019 he acted like the lord of the manor. He became what they called in Igbo parlance, eze onye agwalam (the King that cannot be advised)....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
He acted as if he knows it all and with impunity. His behaviour was a far cry from the legacy of inclusive governance left behind by the amiable and charismatic Sam Mbakwe, the former governor of Imo State of blessed memory whose legacy still mocks the incompetency of governors of the state after him.
It is written, whatever a man sows he shall ripe, the legacy of impunity that Okorocha left in Imo State is being taken to the next level by his successor, Governor Hope Uzodimma. We will get back to that later.
Okorocha’s tendency for impunity was legendary and few examples suffice. Recall that sometime in 2014, the leadership of South East Progressives Assembly, SEPA, had accused Governor Rochas Okorocha of high-handedness, impunity and imposition of his acolytes as party executives of All Progressives Congress, APC. The group, in a statement signed by Okorocha’s former media aide and SEPA president, Mr Ebere Uzoukwa, fumed that the governor’s excesses led to the shocking resignation of the state chairman of APC, Prince Marshal Okaforanyanwu.
“Okaforanyanwu merely received his own dosage of the toxic concoction of Okorocha’s use and dump and almajiri politics, which many that equally worked to secure his first electoral victory in 2011, had taken before deserting him”, the group said.
SEPA officials accused Okorocha of completely refusing to pay former political office holders, including those he personally appointed into his administration, their statutory and constitutionally prescribed entitlements, as well as introducing vindictive politics in Imo ostensibly to erase the achievements of his predecessors in office.
“Why did he dismantle the provisions of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) just to shortchange his political appointees? Why did he subject contractors to execute government projects with borrowed funds only to dump and deny them at the point of payment? Governor Okorocha cannot claim to be unaware that some of the contractors had lost their lives and valuables to banks on account of his failure to pay for work done!
