Imo PDP accuses Okorocha of mortgaging state, governor firesback

Owerri – The People's Democratic Party
(PDP) in Imo has accused Gov. Rochas
Okorocha of mortgaging the state
through loans collected from banks.
The chairman of the party in the state,
Chief Eze Duruiheoma, made the
accusation on Friday at a news
conference.
Duruiheoma said the governor had
collected N47 billion from a bank and
diverted it to an unknown account.
He also said the governor had taken an
additional N15 billion loan from the
same bank through the help of sole
administrators of local governments.
The chairman called on the governor to
let the public know the exact amount
the state owed banks and other
creditors.
He also accused the governor of
awarding contracts without regard to
due process, describing it as "another
attempt to fleece the state treasury."
The chairman condemned the sack of
local government officials by the
governor, saying the local government
system had lost more than N100 billion
as a result.
He also decried the outsourcing of
artisan jobs to foreigners by the
governor, citing the importation of
school uniforms from China, which he
said could have been carried out by
local tailors.
"It is on record that this governor has
outsourced to his international partners
such artisan jobs as tailoring,
bricklaying and carpentry thereby
starving this crucial segment of the
economy of funds.
"Local artisans would have greatly
benefited from these jobs he insists on
outsourcing to artisans from China and
Lebanon. "
He lamented that the governor was in
the habit of abandoning projects
initiated by his predecessor and also
complained about the poor quality of
the projects carried out by him.
"Abandoned projects litter the streets
of Owerri and local government areas;
the few completed ones awarded to
non-professionals were done with little
respect to quality.
"The consequences are that the roads
so poorly constructed have gone bad in
less than six months of completion."
Reacting to the allegations, the Senior
Special Assistant on Media to the
governor, Mr Sam Onwuamaodo, said
the governor never took any loan from
any bank.
Onwuamaodo said the governor had
challenged politicians in the state to
show proof that he obtained any loan
from any bank. (NAN)