Governor Okorocha, where are the jobs in Imo State?

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Last week, the leader of Ohaneze, Kano State Chapter, Chief Tobias
Idika denied media reports that Imo State Governor,Owelle Rochas
Okorocha visited Kano and met with Ndigbo in Kano over the plight of
Igbos in Kano after the Boko Haram attack. 'The report is false and
insensitive to the plight of Ndigbo” said the Ohaneze Chairman.

“Okorocha did not enter Sabon Gari to see anybody. He came for his own
political business. He did not come to see Ndigbo. He did not set foot in
the community” said the visibly annoyed Ohaneze leader .According to
Okorocha's media men, the governor of Imo State arrived the city of Kano
and held meetings with Igbos in Kano including ”his people living at
Sabon Gari” where he discovered that no Igbos were killed in the black
Friday attack.

All I can say to this story is — Shame! Shame! Shame!!! Why will the
Governor of Imo State make such callous statement that no Igbo were
killed in such a drastic bomb attack? This story further exposes him as
over desperate for people's applause. That is how he has been trying to
manipulate the minds of Imo people so as to gain unmerited
commendation through his rescue Imo sweet talks when all he has been
doing is playing a game of deception and rescuing his own pockets. Too
bad, for it is obvious that people's commendation does not come by
chance. It takes doing the right things to get commended. You don't do
the wrong things and expect the masses to hail you.

For the past 6 months,Okorocha has been speaking in tongues and
proclaiming heaven that will become of Imo State . Every month he will
send out a press release, promising Imolites heaven and earth. We have
not witnessed anything that will call for a celebration. To get cheap
popularity, he is using praise singers who are lying to the world that all is
honky dory with Imo State. Our ears are sore with “we will build this and
that” in place of “we have done this and that”.

You don't get the peoples praise when you are sending them out of jobs.
Owelle sacked 10,000 Imo citizens since June last year and has
adamantly refused to reinstate them.The 10,000 sacked workers are
undergoing untold hardship as a result of the suspension of their jobs.
They have severally staged an 'nzogbu-nzogbu' protest march to
government house to see if they can get their jobs back but no way.We
will keep demanding that Okorocha should recall the sacked 10,000
legally employed civil servants in Imo state. Have we not pushed 10,000
persons into kidnappings and armed robbery? It is highly insensitive to
unjustly sack workers in a situation when labour market is already over-
saturated. The sack of 10,000 workers in Imo state has gone down in
history as a testimony of Okorocha's anti-poor, pro-rich programmes. This
is the highest singular sack of workers in one full sweep in Imo State
history by any government.

You don't get the peoples praise when you cannot give them jobs. You
don't get the peoples praise when you are misusing state funds in
relocating the peoples University to your village. Imo State unemployment
rate has grown each month for the last six months, hitting 8.5 percent in
January. Unemployment is the number one issue in Imo state today. In
an SP poll, 89 percent of Imo citizens cited unemployment as the state's
most important problem. Imo people need jobs. That is how they can put
food on the table. Unemployed graduates, unemployed construction
workers, unemployed engineers, unemployed teachers, unemployed
security guards, unemployed cooks, unemployed waiters and those
desperate for a job in Imo can no longer wait. Job is number priority in
Imo State. Okorocha, where are the jobs?

Again, you cannot be destroying the third tier of government in Imo State
and expect Imolites to hail you. Nigeria's Constitution recognizes local
government areas as the third tier of government after the federal and
state governments. Their functions are clearly defined. They are entitled
to allocation of funds from the federation account for use in carrying out
their functions. Governor Okorocha sacked 27 elected council chairmen
without recourse to constitutional procedure and appointed sole
administrators. It is abuse of power for him to appoint sole administrators
for our LGA's . It is a breach of Imo State local government administration
law and a breach of section 7and 8 of the country's constitution. It is an
impeachable offence. Councils in Imo state today hardly pay workers'
salaries due to meager money they receive from the state government.

Sole administrators are government stooges that will only accept
whatever peanuts the government sends to the LGA's. They are not
elected so they have no mouth to demand for what is due for the LGA's .
Using sole administrators in our councils will make Imo State to have
places that cannot be reached by any form of motorized vehicle; reaching
those places will entail abandoning vehicles and trudging on foot. It will
make some areas in Imo to have medical emergencies transported to
clinics on motorcycles. It will make many places in Imo to have pupils
studying under dilapidated classrooms. Where are the boreholes that are
supposed to provide potable water in our LGA's ? Where are the L.G.A
funds? Why won't we have elected council officers in Imo State? Why do
so many people die from preventable diseases like malaria, typhoid,
cholera, dysentery, and meningitis in our LGA's? Why do we have
mountains of refuse and clogged drainages all over our LGA's?

Also, you don't sell Imo State properties to yourself and expect Imolites
to hail you. Okorocha sold the only plantation Imo has in agriculture that
has endured the years. We demand that Okorocha should stop selling
Imo public corporations to himself. He sold Adapalm to himself ,he has
also sold ITC and others. As a policy ,the Okorocha's government has
repeatedly told whoever cares to listen that, “government has no business
being in business” and it thus creates basis for Okorocha to sell off Imo
state owned corporations to himself for peanuts. This is at the expense of
the poor working masses, whose future and that of their teeming
dependants are constantly jeopardized as a result of the harsh economic
condition that will arise from these sales.We call for a public probe of the
unwholesome sale of public properties in Imo state. Imo people did not
fight for change so that Okorocha can sell Imo to Ireland. Imolites did not
fight for change so that Okorocha can feed the dogs. Imo did not elect
him so that he can sell Imo state. He should make Adapalm, Concord,
Imo Transport, Imo Stadium and other Imo State companies to work and
not sell them. Where did he deposit the money from the sales of these
Imo state owned companies? Why is he converting Imo State and its
funds into a family enterprise while governing the State with impunity and
military fiat not minding or giving a hoot how the people feel? Save us o'
God.

Kenneth Uwadi,Mmahu-Egbema,Imo State,Nigeria