By Kemi Yesufu
National Convener of the Coalition for the Advancement of Good Governance (CAGG), Mr. James Okoronkwo, has again lamented what he said is the number of problems inherited by the current administration in Imo State.
Speaking at a press briefing held on Wednesday in Abuja, Okoronkwo called on Imo indigenes to give Governor Emeka Ihedioha more time to remedy the state of underdevelopment in the state, resulting from years of misrule under Senator Rochas Okorocha.
According to him Imo was “a state in which there was absolute financial recklessness, gross fiscal indiscipline, contract bazaar to family members of the then governor, unbelievable infrastructural decay and general resignation to fate by the people of the state”.
He therefore called on Imo people to give Ihedioha the support he needs to chart a new course for the state. This is even as he pleaded for patience from the public.
“We are not unmindful of the impatience of Imolites to see immediate results from the government they overwhelmingly voted for. Their mandate has further being affirmed by the Court of Appeal which stated that the son-in-law of the former governor and candidate of the Action Alliance, Uche Nwosu, was not a candidate in the election having being nominated by two political parties against the Electoral Law.
“With the legal battle as good as over, which by the way had not stood in the way of governance, the opposition is desperate to show that the Government of Ihedioha is lagging. This is unholy, malicious and wicked as the facts on ground speak otherwise”, he said.
Okoronkwo rated the Ihedioha administration high in terms of policy, security, transparency and basic infrastructure. He also expressed satisfaction with how inherited pension debt had been reduced significantly.
He said: “From our findings, there are still expectations to redress the collapsed road infrastructure in the state. We are pleased that the State Executive Council not too long ago approved 14 critical roads contracts to alleviate the suffering of the people.
“At present, the Naze-Federal Polytechnic Road-Ihiagwa-Obinze road; Ahiara Junction-Okpala Road; Aba Branch-Ahiara Junction Road; Imo State Teaching Hospital Road, Umuowa-Old Oorlu Road; MCC-Toronto Road amongst others are on. We are not unmindful of the heavy rains which have slowed down construction work, but are confident that the contractors will not abandon work as was the experience in the last regime in the state”.
“Before now, Imo state was like a garrison compound where opposition voices were stifled, while crime rate was high. It is a thing of joy that the Government of His Excellency Emeka Ihedioha has prioritised security with the launch of OPERATION IRON GATE. We wish to urge the state government to use the special operations to weed out criminals and not target political opponents or silence dissenting voices.
“It is instructive that to achieve the strategic development plan of the state, Imolites should know the financial position of the state for transparency and accountability purposes. We are hopeful that the state government would periodically publish what it gets from FAAC.
“As at now, we are aware that Imo gets N5.5B monthly of which N1b is deducted at source being for sundry obligations which were essentially misappropriated, unaccounted for by the last administration. If you remember clearly, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, listed Imo state as one of five states in 2018 that was unqualified to receive additional Paris Club refund until proof was shown ‘of previous refund for payment of salaries and they will use this one also for payment of salaries’, he further said.
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