Amid the raging intra-party squabble rocking the
All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, the state Governor, Rochas
Okorocha, on Tuesday insisted that he still remains in charge of the party and
has not lost its structure to the party faction known as the ‘APC Coalition
Alliance’.
In the same vein, Okorocha who has only one year to
hand over the reins of governance, said his predecessors, Chief Achike Udenwa
and Ikedi Ohakim, are selfish leaders who did not develop their followers,
hence they did not have any successive plan.
He said his sin was: “I am being persecuted because
I stoutly opposed the elongation of the tenure of Chief John Oyegun as the
National Chairman of the party for another four years, and he (Oyegun) decided
to take a pound of flesh from me by supporting the dissidents who met and
organised kangaroo congresses, wrote results and forwarded same to Abuja for
ratification.
“We are still in charge of APC in the state and we
have not lost the party structures in this state.”
The governor, who spoke to journalists in Owerri as
part of activities marking the 2018 democracy day celebration, boasted that his
record of achievements in the past seven years has surpassed those of all his
predecessors put together.
According to him while the security situation in
the state has tremendously improved in the past seven years of his
administration, his urban renewal programme has tremendously transformed the
Owerri capital city into a modern city which now ranks third in development in
the country after Lagos and Abuja.
Additionally, he statefd that his free education
programme has not only alleviated poverty in the state but has also provoked
the establishment of more schools just as N15 billion had been invested in the
reconstruction of new post primary schools in the state.
The governor said there would be no need for new
schools in the state in the next 20 years by his successors as he had already
completed a total of 261 new ones while over 1,000 kilometres roads had been
tarred in the 27 council areas and ICT centres established to promote computer
literacy among council staff.
Continuing, the governor noted that he has provided
a total of 540 bed hospitals in all the local government areas as part of
measures to promote healthcare delivery services for the people.
He gave an assurance that the president and the vice
president would soon be in the state to inaugurate over 100 completed projects,
saying a 3,500 capacity prison structure would be constructed in the state
while the police headquarters would be moved to a conducive place in Owerri.
Okorocha said: "Udenwa and Ohakim are selfish leaders.
Show me who anyone of them developed in this state that can compete with the
likes of my Deputy and Chief of Staff, Kingsley Uju? Show me any of their
investments in the state like the one my family has? Senator Hope Uzodinma does
not even have a residential house in the state, and that is to show you that he
does not believe in Imo State.”
According to him, it is insulting to classify him
alongside his predecessors, saying none of them spent N50billion for projects
in the state like he has done. "No, no, no, you can't classify me with
Udenwa and Ohakim, no I am way ahead of them. I am breaking oligarchy in Imo
State," he said.
On the crisis in the state chapter of the APC,
Okorocha said all would be sorted out when former Governor of Edo State, Adams
Oshiomhole, assumes office as the National Chairman of the party saying
"once Oshiomhole comes in, everything will be sorted out. Hilary Eke's
term has finished, so he can't even be the chairman until he is elected. There
are court orders stopping the supposed congress. So their congress does not
even exist; the only one that exists is the one we have put up," the governor
maintained.
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