Imo: Ihedioha approves suspension of LG chairmen, sacks ISIEC chairman, members

POLITICS

Imo: Ihedioha approves suspension of LG chairmen, sacks ISIEC chairman, members

 

Governor Emeka Ihedioha, has approved the suspension of Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Councilors and political appointees of the local governments of Imo State and constitution of Interim Management Committees for six months.

The suspension is contained in the instrument signed by the Governor, pursuant to the recommendation made to him by the Imo State House of Assembly.

A statement on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Chibuike Onyeukwu, said this was in pursuant also, to the provisions of Sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Local Government Administration (Amendment) law, 2019 and S.73(3) of Imo State Local Government Administration Law No 15 of 2000 (as amended) and all other laws enabling him.

“The Governor has set up Interim Management Committees to manage the affairs of each Local Government.

“Consequently, the Directors of Administration and General Services (DAGS) of each Local Government have been directed to take over management, pending the confirmation of Interim Management Committees by the State Assembly,” he said.

In a similar development, the Governor approved the dissolution and removal of the chairman and members of the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC).

This followed a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the State Assembly rendered on 6th June, 2019 seeking their removal from office.

“The action is also in accordance with the provisions of S.7(1) of the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission Law and all other extant laws of the State”, the statement added.

“The Commission will be reconstituted in due course to put in place the machinery for conducting a credible election into the local governments.

“The Governor further directs that these officers handover to the most senior civil servant in the Commission.”

 

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Imo: Iwuanyanwu dumps APGA for PDP

POLITICS

Imo: Iwuanyanwu dumps APGA for PDP

 

Another member of the Imo State House of Assembly, Amara Iwuanyanwu, representing Nwangele Constituency, has defected from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The lawmaker is the son of a late political and public relations giant, Chyna Iwuanyanwu, who died about two years ago.

The latest defection, which was made known at a stakeholders’ meeting in his constituency, and later in a statement from the defector’s media consultant, MacDonald Obinna, yesterday brings the total number of PDP seats in the House to 17 from 13 (when the general elections were held).

APGA has four members, from the initial six and the Action Alliance (AA) four, from the six after the general elections.

The defectors included the Speaker, Dr. Chiji Collins, a ranking member from Isiala Mbano Constituency, who changed political sides from the APGA to the PDP during the valedictory session of the Eighth Assembly last Monday.

Lawman Duruji (Ehime Mbano Constituency), who had nominated Collins, a day later, defected from the AA to the PDP alongside Kennedy Ibeh (Obowo Constituency), also a nominator, who defected from the AA to the PDP.

Iwuanyanwu, according to the statement, said he consulted with the PDP leaders of the 11 wards that make up the constituency, adding “I took the decision not to allow the constituency play a second fiddle.”

 

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Imo: Shut up, return all stolen money, properties – Ihedioha fires back at Okorocha

POLITICS

Imo: Shut up, return all stolen money, properties – Ihedioha fires back at Okorocha

 

The Governor of Imo State, Chief Emeka Ihedioha has told his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, to shut up and return all government properties and monies, he and members of his family allegedly siphoned.

Okorocha was advised to toe the line instead of indulging in reckless utterances and blackmail gimmicks against Ihedioha.

This was contained in a statement on Sunday in Owerri, the State capital by Chief of Staff to Governor Ihedioha, Barr Chris Okewulonu.

Okewulonu was reacting to a statement credited to Okorocha wherein he asked Governor Ihedioha to stop running Imo as if he was still a lawmaker.

He said that the State was in a deplorable socio-economic political condition as a result of Okorocha’s visionlessness style of administration.

He described Okorocha as ”a braggart who is empty but claims to know everything. He is a Jack of trades but master of none. He should apologize to Imo people rather than seeking for cheap attention again after the horrible things he did in Imo “

Okewulonu said that “95% of the projects Okorocha claimed to have executed in Imo are either sub-standard or exist in his own imagination. Within a short time, Ihedioha’s achievements would dumb found Okorocha and his hirelings. The governor will not be distracted by the tantrums of a failure like Okorocha.

“I advise Okorocha to shut and stop disgracing himself further. He messed up Imo and left office in ignominy.

“Let him and his cronies first return all government properties and monies they illegally carted away before having the temerity to attempt blackmailing a government that is barely three weeks old. He who seeks for equity must first come with clean hands.”

“Okorocha’s hands are very dirty and he cannot therefore, criticize Governor Ihedioha known for excellence in service delivery,” Okewulonu added.

 

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Reps inauguration: How sacked member was ‘smuggled into Green Chambers’ – Imo group

POLITICS

Reps inauguration: How sacked member was ‘smuggled into Green Chambers’ – Imo group

 

A rights Advocacy Group, the Abba Fourth Force (Abba4thForce) has condemned what it called the admission of a non-member into the Green Chambers of House of Representatives to participate in the election process of leaders of the 9th Assembly.

The group which addressed newsmen in Owerri, the Imo State capital maintained that two court orders from the Federal High Court (FHC/OW/CS/25/2019) and the Appeal Court (CA/OW/204M/2019) had sacked Hon. Ugonna Ozuruigbo of the APC and had ordered that a Certificate of Return be presented to Hon. Kingsley Echendu of the PDP in his place, as the duly elected member representing Nkwerre/Isu/Nwangele/Njaba federal constituency at the House of Representatives.

The leader of the group, Njoku MacDonald Obinna expressed shock that in spite of the overwhelming judicial pronouncements on the Nkwerre/Isu/Nwangele/Njaba federal constituency seat, the management of the Green Chambers at the time, failed to do the needful.

He said this resulted into allowing the sacked Ozuruigbo into the Assembly for the inauguration of the House of Representatives.

He said: “For everyone who followed proceedings during the House of Representative’s inauguration, it was obvious that Hon. Ugonna Ozuruigbo name was missing from the roll call of Imo legislators. If not for the fact that he was seen wielding an oath of allegiance certificate, we would have ignored him because he was not listed in the roll call of members to be inaugurated.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Assembly had all been served copies of rulings and we believed they had done the needful, so it was a rape of justice to have allowed Ozuruigbo to be smuggled into the Green Chambers in spite of the orders of court.”

He called on INEC to hasten the process and immediately present a Certificate of Return to the validly elected Hon. Kingsley Echendu in line with the order of courts.

Njoku stressed: “As a group, we frown at this development and as a people, the Nkwerre/Isu/Nwangele/Njaba federal constituency feels exploited and deprived of their choice of representative as duly expressed through the ballots.

“Nevertheless, we understand the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to be a lawyer of repute who would not be found promoting illegality; we also appreciate the chaotic nature of the proceedings that may have given room to the oversight that led to Ozuruigbo appearing in the chambers. It is our expectation that forthwith, such lacuna would be plugged by the new leadership of the House.”

He called on members of the Nkwerre/Isu/Nwangele/Njaba federal constituency to discountenance such unethical pranks by failed politicians as justice will soon be served.

 

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Imo: Okorocha mocks Ihedioha, says governor behaving like Reps member

POLITICS

Imo: Okorocha mocks Ihedioha, says governor behaving like Reps member

 

Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo State, has challenged his successor, Emeka Ihedioha, to stop behaving like a lawmaker.

He said rather than settle down to his responsibility of governance, Ihedioha had been setting up committees as if he was still a member of the House of Representatives on oversight functions.

The governor stated this in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Sam Onwuemeodo, yesterday.

The statement read, “The new governor of Imo State, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, has not started to govern the state; looking at his activities and utterances so far.

“He has been embarking on oversight functions as if he is still at the National Assembly where he was, uninterruptedly, for 12 years.

“He has also been busy setting up series of committees with at least three committees a day, and has never done any serious thing or taken any serious step or said any serious thing to show that he has actually taken the seat as the governor of the state. He also seems not to have cared about asking questions.

“In the course of doing oversight functions even as governor, he would go to one bad dredging site which he won’t mention where it is, he would send out the photograph just to blackmail his predecessor or he would send out the photograph of one bad toilet they got from somewhere and said it was in the Government House. So petty and unserious all these days.

“The former governor left more than 1,000 verifiable projects behind for him. He has never cared to visit any of the projects to show that he has come to work and that he means well.

“If he could be showing the world one bad toilet we knew they got from Owerri Office of the PDP when landmark projects are located at various parts of the state waiting for him to see, and know what to do with them; then he hasn’t come for service.”

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