– Imo Housing Corporation General Manager Walter Uzonwanne, fingered
Speaking under condition of anonymity, a source at Redemption Estate, Obinze near Owerri has accused the authorities of Imo State Housing Corporation Owerri of selling off all the open spaces meant for markets, recreation centres etc at the estate. All other undeveloped portions of land in the area have been sold off.
The action did not, however go down well with residents and landlords in the estate who attempted to challenge the action when resisted, the Corporation authorities threatened the lives of estate neigbourhood executive committee members.
Following such threats to lives of the neigbourhood association, for the fear of their lives allowed the General Manager identified as Walter Uzonwanne, to go ahead and sell every available space within the Redemption Estate Obinze which was built during Achike Udenwa’s administration. It is gathered that the Rescue Mission has not built one estate in 7 years of the administration.
Last week, the police from the Obinze Redemption Estate police post, arrested some staff of Imo Housing Corporation who had successfully evacuated a 500KVA electricity transformer which was installed and in use at the Redemption Estate. While trying to leave the premises with the stolen transformer, the culprits were apprehended, and detained at the Umuguma Divisional Police Headquarters. It took intervention of the General Manager of Imo Housing Corporation, Walter Obinwanne before the suspected vandals and alleged transformer thieves, were let-off the hook on bail.
The General Manager who is from Oguta and a former APGA candidate to the House of Assembly, had posited that the transformer is the property of the Housing Corporation and that he has every right to take total possession of the property, not minding the fact that he has just thrown the residents of the estate, into perpetual darkness. Yet it is the overall duty of government and its agencies to provide power and improve the welfare of its citizens irrespective of clan, religion and relationship.
When contacted, the DPO of Umuguma police station Mr. Edmund where the culprits were taken to and detained, until Uzonwanne came, before they were charged to court for theft he confirmed the story. The DPO added that Mr. Obinwanne gave as other reason for the vandalization, the need to build lock-up shops at the location of the now vandalized and completely evacuated transformer. The residents have since faulted this claims saying, “they ought to be intimated before a public property in use at the estate is removed if such act is in good fate. They accused the General Manager of sponsoring his cohorts to steal the transformer.
The General Manager was equally accused of attempting to sell the police post located within the estate to raise money for his political ambition, but met very stiff resistance from the police authority at Umuguma. The refusal of the police command to vacate from the estate has since forced the General Manager of Imo Housing Corporation into luring like a wounded lion or python looking for whom to devour.
