Former Chairman of Standard Shoes Industry Owerri, Chief (Dr) Chris Esiobu has described the Governor of Imo state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, as “very wicked, corrupt and incapable of winning election as senator of Orlu zone, no matter how much money he parks or shares, and how much bribes he gives to INEC”.
Speaking exclusively to our reporter recently in Owerri, the ex-standard shoe company boss, challenged Okorocha to make the findings of his several probes into the affairs of standard shoe company Owerri public, if he is not corrupt or an accomplice. In his words, “Rochas cannot win any election in Orlu zone. Rochas has done so many bad things against humanity. Rochas will never be a senator. He is a wicked man. A wicked man cannot continue to rule Imo state. Power is transient and Rochas should be parking his things now out of government house Owerri, so you cannot be talking of Uche Nwosu. Are we idiots?”
As a press man, if you are asked to vote for Uche Nwosu as governor, will you vote for him? Why are you then talking of Uche Nwosu? No matter how much Rochas spends to make Uche Nwosu, it will never work. This is the last political position that Rochas will ever hold.
On his role in the collapse of standard shoe company Owerri, Chief Chris Esiobu explained how he courageously and publicly took Rochas to task over his reluctance to address the monumental fraud at standard shoe company by drawing the attention of the governor to it at an interactive session. He however regretted that despite several reports which confirmed that the sum of N375 million was misappropriated, the Governor has refused to recover the money from the culprits simply because the fraud has his tacit blessing and endorsement. He recalled that the money was in November 2011 earmarked for the manufacturing of shoes for the free education programme but that neither the shoes were manufactured at Owerri standard shoe company nor the money accounted for.
He recalled also having reported the matter to EFCC but despite several attempts at prosecuting those indicted, the Governor intervened on their behalf. Power he said is not permanent, so Rochas should be parking up and leaving government house Owerri any moment from now. “He has done bad things to mankind”, he concluded. He also promised that as soon as the Governor leaves office in 2019, he will be arrested alongside all those he used to steal the N375 million meant to produce shoes for pupils of primary schools under his free education programme.
