The President of Imo Union in the United Kingdom, Adolph Agbasonu has called on Governor Rochas Okorocha to tread with caution in inflicting hardship on the people of the state.
Agbasonu said this in a statement in London which was made available to BDSUNDAY in Owerri. He condemned the rapidity with which people’s property and investments were being destroyed under the developmental programme of Governor Okorocha.
He noted that some of their members, who visited Imo State recently denounced the rate of destruction of Owerri master plan by the present administration as callous and unprecedented.
The President regretted that all the roads in the state have remained impassable, while the beautiful ones constructed by the previous governments were destroyed and replaced with sub-standard ones.
According to him, “all the legacies left behind in Imo right from Ndubisi Kanu’s administration had been destroyed and replaced with non-viable or non-profitable projects and the worrisome aspect of it was that none of them yields any income nor could employ millions of jobless people roaming the streets of the state.”
Agbasonu also condemned the Imo State Government policy of directing civil servants to go to the farms on Thursdays and Fridays whereas real farmers in the rural areas had not been provided with any farm implements such as fertilizers, agro feeds, tractors, hoes, machetes and even farmlands.
The Imo Union of Elders had called on Okorocha to toe the line of international convention which stipulates that work days for civil servants were Mondays through Fridays.
He described as outrageous any provocative situation where civil servants were forced to go to farm on official work days, adding that the measure was a further ploy by the governor to further cut the workers’ wages which was reduced by 30percent.
The Union also, stated that the situation, where pensioners were owed up to 40 to 70 months arrears, and gratuities were not paid or talked of was the height of wickedness on the part of any leader.
He said: “If it were in developed climes, such a leader should have resigned honourably knowing fully well that he has failed and his system has collapsed”.
“I call on the governor to stay action on his proposed relocation of Owerri Main Market popularly known as Eke-Ukwu-Owerri because the market has remained the age long known identity of Owerri people. It is absurd to deny the people of Owerri their inalienable right by relocating their market to another local government area.
I suggest that the governor should either construct a fence round the market with barbed wires and metals as it was done in some cities like Lagos, Calabar and what have you”, he added.
Agbasonu however, commended the governor for rescinding the suspension of some traditional rulers in the state who were selected/elected by their people, arguing that the deposition of traditional rulers lied squarely with their people.
And wondered why the governor, a recipient of the traditional title from traditional rulers should disrespect the institution that honoured him.
