Governor Hope Uzodinma has told the story of the intrigues, and scheming that had characterized and hindered his administrative performances for the past six months during which he has been in the saddle, as Executive Governor of Imo State. While heaping the blames on the former governor of the state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and claiming that he reneged on the two conditions they had earlier reached and agreed on, so as to enjoy the strong support of the Okorocha, the ex-governors not battle ready to join forces with the opposition against Uzodinma.
According to the governor, Okorocha had pleaded with him to dissolve the investigating panels set up by Emeka Ihedioha on his eight years tenure as governor. In his response to this request, Governor Hope Uzodinma told Okorocha to exercise patience until the probe panels submit their reports since that appears the choice of Imo people. He had wanted to see the direction of their findings and recommendations. He equally revealed that he advised the ex-governor to endeavour to refund some of the money and government properties he allegedly looted and converted. Continuing Uzodinma stated, that the meeting where Okorocha made the spurious demand was at his own instance. “If there are monies or things he can refund which can be used to start work since the state was then broke he should have started returning same” Uzdoinma said.
On the other request, which was the need to allow Dan Nwafor to continue as chairman of Imo APC, Okorocha gave the reason that he needed Dan Nwafor to remain as Imo APC chairman to enable him run for the presidency in 2023. Unfortunately for Okorocha, he did not reckon with Hope Uzodinma political interest either now or in 2023, while insisting on his loyalist, Dan Nwafor.
According to Uzodinma, this infuriated him the more to insist that Nlemigbo remains. He had also asked Okorocha if his own interest should not be protected “I decided to support Nlemigbo to hold the party because he is an experienced party administrator and secondly because he has been through this route before”.
Meanwhile in the words of Governor Hope Uzodinma the Nlemigbo faction has obtained a judgment from a Federal High Court affirming its legality which verdict has also been appealed against by the Dan Nwafor faction, thus lingering the resolution, factionalization and disunity already existing in the crises ridden Imo APC. Governor Hope Uzodinma admitted his reluctance or refusal to authorize the conduct of a state congress that could further re-unite and stabilize the party. Instead he has adopted the need for consensus in choosing who becomes the candidate of APC ahead of Imo North senatorial bye-election.
Speaking further, Governor Hope Uzodinma who made these revelations at a stakeholders meeting of Imo APC, explained that for refusing Okorcha’s requests contained in the two conditions sought for , twice, Okorocha has since resolved to team up with major opposition Imo PDP and other disgruntled elements in APC to undermine his administration by giving it a bad name in order to hang it.
Uzodinma stated that his perception of the various probe panels instituted by ex-Governor Emeka Ihedioha was that Imo populace are happy with their inauguration and expectant of the outcomes which will turn out to mean recovery of looted public treasury and a number or myriads of public properties appropriated by his predecessors.
He however did not explain why he has not deemed it fit, appropriate and proper to retrieve or recover some of the already identified privatized public properties such as the Eastern Palm University Ogboko and the Imo Legislative quarters as well as the IBC staff quarters at Orji which was renovated at the expense of Imo State, to the tunes of billions of naira and yet converted to Okorochas private concerns and not recovered till date of publication.
