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| Rochas Okorocha |
Lawmakers at the Imo State House of Assembly have called for investigation into the conversion of the Imo Broadcasting Cooperation Quarters located at Orji, near Owerri, the state capital to Rochas Foundation College by the immediate past governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha.
Uche Ogbuagu, who moved the motion during plenary urged his colleagues to summon Okorochaโs aides to appear before the House to explain how the government asset was converted into private use.
He said, โGovernment land, particularly the IBC Quarters, Orji, was converted into private use, the name is Rochas Foundation College. Many individuals were equally dispossessed of their lands by the immediate past governor of Imo State for his private use.
โIt shall be for the interest of justice to recover all the government lands unlawfully converted into private use and also return the land unlawfully grabbed from individual owners to the legitimate owners.
โGovernment officials at ministry of lands, particularly the director and others should be summoned to appear before the executive session of the House to give account of their stewardship.โ
The lawmakers said that posterity would not forgive them if they did not recover the land from Okorocha.
The Speaker, Collins Chiji, instructed the Clerk to invite Okorochaโs aides to appear before the executive session of the House after the motion had been adopted.
In a related development, the Association of Imo State Indigenous Town Unions and student groups had on Thursday prevented the state governor, Emeka Ihedioha, from gaining access to Government House during a peaceful protest in Owerri.
The protesters, who displayed placards with various inscriptions, demanded that Okorocha should be probed.
According to them, Okorocha, his wife and family members allegedly plundered the resources of the state during the eight years that he was in office.
The President of the Imo State Indigenous Town Unions, Emeka Diwe, who presented the grievances of the group in a letter he read to the governor, said that Okorocha administration, public assets were allegedly converted into private use.
Diwe said, โWe are the leadership of the Association of Imo State Indigenous Town Unions, in collaboration with Orluzurumee, Olu Owerri, Olu Okigwe, Amalgamation of Imo Professional Associations, the students unions and the various youth groups in the state. We are concerned and indeed compelled to protest and make this demand on Governor Emeka Ihedioha to act because we represent the vast majority of the poor and defenceless citizens of Imo State at the grassroots who suffer the greatest impact of bad governance.โ
Assuring the protesters that their demands would be looked into, Ihedioha said that he was delighted that they did not take laws into their hands.
The governor said, โWe are happy that you did not take laws into your hands. Ours is a responsible government. We would take deliberate steps in looking into your demands and grievances.โ
