Douglas
House, Imo State: The gods are obviously angry and trouble in brewing. The problem is Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the
Executive Governor of the State, who has proved to be the Achilles heels of the
once vibrant – and cleanest State in Nigeria.
A
business mogul and philanthropist in his own right, the man and his troubling
programmes is running aground Imo State – causing incalculable damages! “These evil programmes are smoke screens
designed to cover a well laid hidden agenda to pillage the State”, said an
angry resident Nwachukwu Edede.
Once
regarded as the “toast of the people” who at the beginning sold a dummy that he
was on what he called “rescue mission” the so-called “Owelle” has butchered
practically all sectors of the State to the extent that the “gods” themselves
are geared for a reprisal action.
The
crux of the matter is such that despite consistent allocation from the Federal
Government, payment of 13% derivation and internally generated revenue, the
“Owelle” has unilaterally driven the Civil Service into ruins with no salaries
paid for months, unauthorized deductions from the local Government accounts,
non-payment of contractors who borrowed money to execute jobs, and of course
pensioners who are now in the throes of imminent death!
That’s
not all, equally generating tension is the traditional institution that has
also been desecrated and Rulers left in the lurch; the Water Board and the
Health sector are not spared either; and besides steering the State from its
original master plan, and embarking on white elephant projects such as
construction of non-quality roads land grabbing as well as forcibly converting
the Universities into glorified Secondary schools, kidnapping has now become
the norm.
In
Education, the backlash is swift in coming: from first position in WAEC, the
State has now emerged 10th position; the exorbitant fees charged by
the available Universities – signaling an end to free education – has thrown
out eligible students resulting to endless strikes. Imo State that used to be the preferred base
for higher education is now no more than glorified Secondary school. No thanks to the countless unnecessary
interference by the rudderless Governor.
Again, but for some brave resistance from Civil Servants who stood their
grounds the Owelle” had tried to rent out the prestigious State Secretariat as
apartment to members of the public! Such
are his distorted policies. Even then,
the Civil Service is now in a precarious situation. The most laughable of his strange policies is
the reduction of working days to 3 while the remaining is to be used for
farming for a State not known for agro-based activities!
Now
the question is: who can stop this maverick Governor and rescue the State from
this embarrassing quagmire? As difficult
as the answer is, I hear someone saying “There is balm in Gilead”!
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