The Imo state Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, led by Comrade Precious Nwadike, on Tuesday November, 9, 2021 stormed the Zone 9 Police Command, Umuahia in Abia State to honour police invitation at the instance of Mr Chris Akaraonye, Innocent Igwe and ex-Governor’s proxy (name withheld).
Delegation of Imo NUJ at Zone 9 police command, Umuahia, Abia State, recently
Chris Akaraonye, who retired as a photographer from the ministry of Information and his accomplices, having failed to compromise the Imo State Police Command allegedly contracted one Augustine Okeke, who claimed to be running the union’s guest house that was later converted to a brothel. Okeke claimed in a petition he addressed to Zone 9, that in the process of shutting down the brothel which cast a blur on the image of the union, some of his property were damaged.
But unfortunately for them, the police at Zone 9 were not fooled as they did not yield to pressure mounted to arrest and detain Union members as they insisted on thorough investigation.
It would be recalled that after Akaraonye and his cohorts had concluded plans to sell the Imo NUJ Secretariat located at Port Harcourt Road, they issued quit notices to occupants of the gigantic edifice, vandalized the place and carted away valuables belonging to the union. Akaraonye was said to have been seen carting away roofing sheets of the 300- capacity conference hall.
When confronted, he claimed that they were relocating to the new secretariat which was later identified as a white elephant project and canon folder built by Okorocha to allegedly acquire peoples land at New Owerri. The said new secretariat has been presently marked for demolition by a panel set up by the government and the White Paper that emanated there from.
Some concerned Imo Journalists and other discerning Imolites who commented on Akaraonye’s claim of taking the roofing sheets he was caught carting away to the secretariat wondered what the roofing sheets were meant for in a building that had already been completed. They posited that Akaraonye was as usual being economical with the truth.
They berated Akaraonye and his group for being selfish and insensitive to the welfare of the union by embarking on such transaction without seeking the consent of the members, pointing out that posterity will certainly judge them.
It was also gathered that the ex-governor’s proxy is the person funding Chris Akaraonye who is not a journalist, Innocent Igwe and their co-travelers to destabilize the union in a bid to achieve their selfish interests.
