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Tag: Okorocha

  • Imo 2019: No going back on choice of my son-in-law as successor – Okorocha

    Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State on Tuesday cleared the air on why he is endorsing his son in-law, Mr Uche Nwosu, to take over from him as governor.

    Speaking with newsmen at the Sam Mbakwe International Airport in Owerri, shortly on arrival from an overseas trip, Okorocha said that Nwosu is qualified to govern Imo and that his position on the endorsement stands.

    He, however, assured that the primary to elect a candidate a governorship candidate for the APC in Imo would be transparent, noting that there would be no shortcut in selecting candidates to fly the party’s flag.

    Recall that observers have been criticizing the governor for his penchant for choosing his relations to occupy public offices.

    Okorocha also disclosed that local government council elections in Imo would be conducted in June, to give residents of the state an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice at the grassroots.

    He said that he was working hard to boost the popularity of the APC in the South-East to make the party acceptable to the people in the upcoming general elections.

    The governor said that he was also taking necessary steps to inject life into the party to boost President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election chances.

  • Imo 2019: Okorocha can’t manipulate me if I become governor – Nwosu

    The Chief of Staff and son-in-law to Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Uche Nwosu on Saturday, said the incumbent can’t manipulate him (Nwosu) if he becomes the state governor in 2019.

    Recall that Governor Okorocha as at different occasions tipped Nwosu as the next governor of the state.

    The endorsement has sparked a row in the state especially from the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Nwosu, who spoke in an interview with The Punch dismissed the insinuation that he would be manipulated to do the bidding of Okorocha if elected as governor.

    He said, “This is another tool of blackmail employed by mischievous politicians who have been dislodged in the state. Some people are saying they do not want me to be governor because I am Okorocha’s son-in-law. They claimed that if I become governor, Governor Okorocha would manipulate me and tell me what to do. If tomorrow they say Uche Nwosu is the governor, Okorocha will not say, ‘let me give him a list’ like other people do.”

    He advised other governorship aspirants in the state to discuss their plans and programmes for the people of the state instead of criticising his ambition because he is an in-law to the governor.

    He added, “Yes, I am a son-in-law to Rochas Okorocha and I am very much proud to be his son-in-law. In most of the countries of the world, let me just start with (United States) President Donald Trump; his son-in-law is an adviser and America never went up in flame. George Bush was the President of the United States and after his tenure, his son became President and America never went haywire.

    “Governor Okorocha will not impose somebody on the people. Naturally, the time will come when the people will choose who they want to govern them.”

  • 2019: I haven’t endorsed my son-in-law as my successor – Okorocha

    2019: I haven’t endorsed my son-in-law as my successor – Okorocha

    Governor of Imo.State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has debunked claims that he had unilaterally endorsed his Chief of Staff and son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, as his successor.

    The clarification came during a media chat in Abuja just as the Imo State Government warned religious leaders to be cautious in their utterances and actions as undue meddlesomeness in partisan politics could trigger unnecessary crisis in the state.

    Okorocha said what he has done was to pencil down three persons who are likely to take over from him at the end of his tenure in 2019 and to encourage these governorship hopefuls to seek grassroots support for their aspirations. The likely successors, he said, include the Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere; Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu and Chike Okafor, former Commissioner for Finance and now a member of the House of Representatives.

    Okorocha, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Electoral Matters, Chief Steve Asimobi, said that though he was yet to endorse anyone, endorsement of candidates ahead of any election was a normal democratic procedure but does not amount to an imposition since all aspirants would pass through the primary election at the party level or be selected through a consensus decision of the party.

    The governor said that in proposing the three aspirants, he had told them that the person who will earn his endorsement and support must not only be 50 years and below, but must show that he has grassroot support and the support of the party structure across the 27 local government areas of the state.

    “I want to state clearly and unequivocally that Governor Rochas Okorocha is a democrat who likes doing things orderly and through consensus

    “Endorsement is a natural process in any democracy. During the last election, the Catholic Church took a position. The political parties will endorse, traditional rulers will endorse. The governor is also qualified to endorse who he will endorse but he has not foisted that candidate on the masses because the candidates will still go through party primaries. Secondly, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Constitution of the APC as well as the Electoral Act and Guidelines give the party the leeway to go through the normal primary or do what we call consensus,” Asimobi said.

    He dismissed critics who have accused Okorocha of nepotism in the alleged choice of a son-inlaw as successor. According to him, in the United States of America from where Nigeria borrowed her style of democracy, there had been various instances where people from the same family occupied various political positions at the same time or in quick succession. He gave examples of the Kenedy, Bush and Clinton dynasties where members of the same family have held various sensitive political offices.

    On the issue of power rotation in Imo State and the alleged move to violate what is referred to as Charter of Equity, Asimobi said, “There is no Charter of Equity in Imo state. There is no agreement written by anybody That is why since 1999 till date, people from Okigwe, Owerri and Orlu zones have contested for the governorship seat at every election cycle.”

    On the recent reports of an alleged attack on the Archbishop of Owerri Catholic archdiocese, Most Rev. Valentine Obinna, by loyalists of Governor Okorocha’s Chief of Staff and son in-law, Uche Nwosu, Asimobi said the incident has been grossly misrepresented.

  • Imo 2019: Okorocha, PDP fight dirty over endorsement of son-in-law as successor

    The Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will vehemently oppose alleged plans by Governor Rochas Okorocha to impose his son-in-law, Prince Uche Nwosu as the next governor in 2019.

    Recall that the governor had earlier boasted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will control the state for the next 24 years without any break.

    The governor also frowned on the alleged blackmail by his political detractors and dismissed recent reports that the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese, Most Reverend Anthony Obinna, was beaten and manhandled by a group of APC supporters.

    Last Saturday, the Archbishop’s preaching during a requiem mass at Ngwoma in Owerri North Local Government Area of the state was interrupted by a group of persons suspected to be politicians.

    In a press release signed by Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, the governor said, “If the only issue Uche Nwosu has for which he cannot be governor is being Governor Okorocha’s in-law, then we should give America back its democracy since that is where we copied from.

    “The same America, where George Walker Bush became the 43rd President, from 2001 to 2009 after his father, George Herbert Walker Bush had become the country’s 41st President from 1989 to 1993.”

    But the Imo state chapter of the PDP on Thursday said the governor had advanced plans to rig the next governorship election in favour of Nwosu, who is his current chief of staff.

    Addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat in Owerri, the state capital, the state chairman of the party, Charles Ezekwem, claimed that the party had learnt of the plot and was ready for the governor.

    Ezekwem said, “We have it on good authority that the APC in Imo state is working assiduously on how to subvert the will of Imo people in 2019, having become very unpopular because of its gross maladministration and record of monumental corruption.

    “Its only hope now lies in rigging elections but that cannot happen again. The PDP will put in place a watertight anti-rigging formula that will shock the APC leaders in 2019.”

     

  • 2019: Imo Archbishop attacked for criticising APC, Okorocha

    Archbishop of Owerri Catholic Diocese, Archbishop Anthony Obinna, has come under severe criticism for openly canvassing support for one of the political parties during a public function at the weekend.

    The Archbishop also drew the ire of the congregation when he digressed from his sermon during a burial mass at the St. Michael Catholic Church Ngwoma-Obube in Owerri North Council Area of the state and accused the state governor, Rochas Okorocha and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for reducing the state to a laughing stock.

    Listen to the Archbishop speech on Okorocha:

    The cleric was further quoted by eyewitnesses to have urged the people to ensure that the APC does not return to power in the state, adding that the party has failed the people.

    According to an eyewitness, “the service was going on smoothly when the Archbishop suddenly asked those that have Permanent Voters Card (PVC) to raise up their hands. After that, he said that all those that were yet to get their PVC should do so and ensure that they vote out the APC and bring in another party because the people are not happy with the bad roads in the state, even though the government has created the Ministry of Happiness”.

    The source continued that, “the Archbishop again asked the congregation if they will allow the APC to continue by allowing the governor to impose a governor on the state. At this point, a Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), walked up to the pulpit and was given the microphone by the Archbishop. He then started shouting that the APC has killed the state, that the APC will never come back to the state.

    “At that point an APC Chieftain also came out and collected the microphone and told the congregation that the people are happy with the APC and the state governor at that point there was stampede at the pulpit as supporters of the different political parties present at service started scrambling for the microphone”.

    Meanwhile, the wife of the State governor, Nkechi Rochas Okorocha, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Acho Ihim and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Uche Nwosu and other top government functionaries were seated quietly at the front row.

    Another member of the congregation, Simeon Okokwe, said that the situation almost degenerated into bloody clash if not for the maturity displayed by the government officials at the event.

    He blamed the Archbishop for turning a Requiem Mass to a political campaign, noting that “he should have exploited better avenues to correct the government in the areas he felt it is not done well than his open show of partisanship”.

    It will be recalled that in 2011, the Archbishop led the campaign against the re-election of the then governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, who was accused of beating up a Reverend Father.

    But the former governor was recently absolved of the allegation by the Archbishop, nearly seven years after losing the election to the incumbent governor.

    The Archbishop also fell out with the APC led government in 2015 when he allegedly endorsed the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

  • 2019: Okorocha blasts Araraume, says ‘You can never rule Imo’

    Governor Rochas Okorocha has told Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, a governorship hopeful in the state that he can never win the party’s governorship ticket let alone ruling the state.

    Okorocha said this in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo on Tuesday.

    The governor insisted that the former Senator’s ambition as unrealistic, adding that he cannot even win the party primaries, talk less of wining the main governorship election.

    The statement reads: “I want to say this for the sake of emphasis. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume cannot win the ticket of APC for the 2019 governorship election in the State and can never govern the State. So people should not allow themselves to be deceived”.

    “In 2007, Araraume won the ticket of PDP and failed the main election. In 2011, he also had the ticket of ACN and came fourth in the election. In 2015, he also failed the PDP Primary. So what magic would he perform in 2019?

    “Again, if he sees himself as a Political force, let him do what Rochas Okorocha did in 2011 by taking the ticket of APGA that was not on ground and won his election by defeating a sitting governor of PDP extraction and in 2015, when he defiled all the PDP onslaughts with Federal might and joined the Merger that gave birth to APC at the risk of his life and his second term bid and also won his election. Let Senator Araraume pick the ticket of any of the parties, contest and win and we will celebrate him. He should not always be working to undo sitting governors to become governor”.

    It added further that, “some of these people were among those calling Rochas, OkoroHausa, Alhaji in Government House and Buhari-Rochas and accusing him of coming to Islamize Igboland and Nigeria in general.

    “Name-dropping has also become old fashioned in Politics. In 2007 and 2011, it was Chief Tony Aninih’s name that was been dropped. Today, they have begun to drop the name of Chief John Oyegun. Powerful Politicians in the real sense of the word do not drop names”.

    The statement which apparently a reaction to the Araraume’s alleged claim that he was not in support of the elongation of the term of office of the APC National Chairman, noted further that, “it is unfortunate that while we have continued to exercise caution and demonstrate apparent decency and discipline in our media outings even as they concern some of the Politicians and governorship aspirants in the State, few of them have always thrown caution to the wind by thinking that the only way they can make impact or make a headway in their Politics and Political pursuits is by embarking on falsehood and sponsoring cheap blackmail against Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    “As a responsible government and as responsible people we do not trade on propaganda, falsehood and blackmail. We do not tell lies. They have sponsored lies against the governor over the outcome of the APC NEC meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 in which the tenure of the National Chairman Chief John Oyegun and others were extended.

    “The governor is the strongest pillar of APC in the South-East and one of the pillars in the Country. And he has remained supportive in all ramifications to the John Oyegun-led National Exco of the Party. And there is no reason anybody should begin to create the impression that Governor Okorocha was against the extension of Chief Oyegun’s tenure.

    “The APC governors who are all members of the APC Governors’ Forum which governor Okorocha heads supported the extension of tenure across the board. And with that, the governors are the greatest beneficiaries of the extension.

    “You may ask where these elements were when the PDP foot soldiers were invading Imo and South-East in general with Soldiers and other Security agents. Rochas made the survival of APC in the South-East possible, having a Senator, three House of Representatives, Majority in the House of Assembly (23 out of 27), and gave President Muhammadu Buhari the highest number of votes in 2015 in the South-East. And APC won that election but the PDP people doctored the whole exercise with the help of Security agencies and INEC then. Time will expose these folks who think that their Political survival lies with blackmail against Okorocha”.

    Meanwhile, the governor has congratulated Oyegun and other members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) of All Progressives Congress, APC over the extension of their tenure by one year.

    The governor also congratulated States, Local Governments and Ward Executives of the party who also benefitted from the extension.

    He noted that “such lofty action would not have been possible without the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the state governors and key stakeholders in the party who were at the NEC meeting”.

    The governor reminded Chief Oyegun and his team that “by the extension, they have been challenged to do more for the progress and victory of the party at levels”.

    He wished them a successful tenure, and praying that the” good Lord should grant them all they needed to succeed”.

  • Okorocha joins Imo West senatorial race

    Okorocha joins Imo West senatorial race

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday declared his intention to contest for the Imo West senatorial seat in 2019.

    The governor said his participation would brighten the chances of President Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) .

    Okorocha, who spoke at the Government House in Owerri, at the inauguration of members of the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC), endorsed his deputy, Eze Madumere, for Imo East seat, and restated his earlier endorsement of his chief of staff and son in-law, Uche Nwosu, as his successor.
    He said: ”If Uche Nwosu will be home for governor, I will tell the deputy governor to go to the Senate. I told you earlier that my interest is the Presidency but since President Buhari will be contesting in 2019, I decided to put my ambition on hold until he completes his tenure.

    “But I have decided to run for the Imo West Senatorial zone because if I don’t, bad people will take the position. If my name appears on the ballot paper as contesting for the Senate, it will boost APC’s chances in the state. And many from my zone have said they will not contest if I am interested.“

    Madumere has dismissed the reported impeachment plot against him by the House of Assembly.

    The deputy governor insisted that he remains “an integral part of the government” and described the impeachment plot as “a mere fallacy”.

    He said: “I was not in the state when the said impeachment plot was raised. I see it as mere rumour…”

  • 2019: Buhari will soon declare his intention to seek reelection – Okorocha

    Governor of Imo State and chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress governors forum, Rochas Okorocha, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon address the nation on his decision on the 2019 presidential election.

    Okorocha stated this Thursday shortly after he led other APC governors to meet with the president at the First Lady’s conference room.

    In a brief chart with reporters after the meeting, Mr. Okorocha said they were in the Villa to ask Mr. Buhari to seek a second term in office.

    “We discussed so many issues that affects the nation, our party and Mr. President’s ambition to run for 2019 elections,” he said.

    The Imo governor said, “It is the desire of the governors that Mr. President should run for this exalted office given his performance in the last two years. We believe that if he continues Nigeria will be better for it.”

    He also said Mr. Buhari “in his usual manner” has requested that the governors “give him time and that he will address the nation and the caucus of the party very soon”

    “So we should be full of expectations that Mr. President will make officially known to Nigerians his intentions but we hope that his response will be in line with what the governors are thinking,” he said.

    APC governors have been putting pressure on Mr. Buhari to seek re-election. They met with him last week in his home town, Daura, on the same mission.

     

  • Okorocha orders arrest of Indian hemp smokers in Imo

    Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has directed the State Police Command to arrest Indian hemp smokers and other-related drug addicts in the state.

    The governor was quoted as saying, “When arrested, don’t take the suspects to police custody. Rather, take them to the Government House. We have a big cell for them.”

    The governor reportedly gave the directive during the luncheon and award ceremony organised by the state police command in Owerri on Saturday.

    According to him, the rate at which youths in the state smoke Indian hemp will ruin the country if left unchecked.

    He pointed out that if law enforcement agencies failed to checkmate the activities of the youth, described as leaders of tomorrow, the country’s future would be bleak.

    Okorocha noted that the state government would destroy houses where hard drug business thrived in the state.

     

  • Remove Zuma’s statue now – I Go Dye tells Okorocha

    Nigerian comedian and public affairs commentator, I Go Dye who has in the past written open letters to President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has commended former South African President, Zuma over resigning.

    He however urged Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha to remove the statue in his State, erected in honour of the erstwhile South African President.

     

    I Go Dye wrote on Instagram: “ For the first time, another African leader has done the needful, by listening to the voice of reason, objectivity and took a bow from service because of the truth. Ex-president Zuma has done what is honourable, in spite of all the accolades bestowed on him, I respect him for doing what an honorable man will do. “It’s high time, Nigerian politicians stopped celebrating corruption; they should be mindful of those they adore and honour as their heroes. It takes so much to validate the true reflection of a man,but at all times, integrity should be the bases of all standards.

     

    When we choose to eulogies, bestow awards or build a statue to honour someone as a monument, please let us be mindful that history will subsequently judge us, if really our precision of facts is absolutely without error? Consequently, I kindly appeal to the donor of a statue in his honour in my home country Nigeria, Imo State precisely, to respect Zuma’s courage for stepping down on the grounds of corruption allegations, to kindly remove the statue as a mark of respect to the voices of reason and truth, so that posterity will not judge him as someone who is supporting corruption . Whatever decision, His Excellency, Rochas Okorocha take on this premise; with all due respect to him and his rights; but as a young student of history I am optimistic that those that will rewrite the wrongs and rights of today will remember him standing for or against the voice of truth and reason, by taking pride to speak or act at a time when many will ignore the truth because of personal gratification.”

     

    Zuma: Okorocha blasts critics, says ‘I owe no one any apology, expect more statues’

     

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