Imo APC Crisis: Okorocha Slams Oyegun Says Udenwa, Ohakim are selfish leaders

Amby Uneze Uneze in Owerri
Amid the raging intra-party squabble rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, the state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday insisted that he still remains in charge of the party and has not lost its structure to the party faction known as the ‘APC Coalition Alliance’.

In the same vein, Okorocha who has only one year to hand over the reins of governance, said his predecessors, Chief Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, are selfish leaders who did not develop their followers, hence they did not have any successive plan.

He said his sin was: “I am being persecuted because I stoutly opposed the elongation of the tenure of Chief John Oyegun as the National Chairman of the party for another four years, and he (Oyegun) decided to take a pound of flesh from me by supporting the dissidents who met and organised kangaroo congresses, wrote results and forwarded same to Abuja for ratification.

“We are still in charge of APC in the state and we have not lost the party structures in this state.”
The governor, who spoke to journalists in Owerri as part of activities marking the 2018 democracy day celebration, boasted that his record of achievements in the past seven years has surpassed those of all his predecessors put together.

 According to him while the security situation in the state has tremendously improved in the past seven years of his administration, his urban renewal programme has tremendously transformed the Owerri capital city into a modern city which now ranks third in development in the country after Lagos and Abuja.

Additionally, he stated that his free education programme has not only alleviated poverty in the state but has also provoked the establishment of more schools just as N15 billion had been invested in the reconstruction of new post primary schools in the state.
The governor said there would be no need for new schools in the state in the next 20 years by his successors as he had already completed a total of 261 new ones while over 1,000 kilometres roads had been tarred in the 27 council areas and ICT centres established to promote computer literacy among council staff.

Continuing, the governor noted that he has provided a total of 540 bed hospitals in all the local government areas as part of measures to promote healthcare delivery services for the people.
He gave an assurance that the president and the vice president would soon be in the state to inaugurate over 100 completed projects, saying a 3,500 capacity prison structure would be constructed in the state while the police headquarters would be moved to a conducive place in Owerri.

Okorocha said: “Udenwa and Ohakim are selfish leaders. Show me who anyone of them developed in this state that can compete with the likes of my Deputy and Chief of Staff, Kingsley Uju? Show me any of their investments in the state like the one my family has? Senator Hope Uzodinma does not even have a residential house in the state, and that is to show you that he does not believe in Imo State.”

According to him, it is insulting to classify him alongside his predecessors, saying none of them spent N50billion for projects in the state like he has done. “No, no, no, you can’t classify me with Udenwa and Ohakim, no I am way ahead of them. I am breaking oligarchy in Imo State,” he said.

On the crisis in the state chapter of the APC, Okorocha said all would be sorted out when former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, assumes office as the National Chairman of the party saying “once Oshiomhole comes in, everything will be sorted out. Hilary Eke’s term has finished, so he can’t even be the chairman until he is elected. There are court orders stopping the supposed congress. So their congress does not even exist; the only one that exists is the one we have put up,” the governor maintained.

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