By Gideon Njoku
Embattled former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, is laughing at the Imo State Government, and Imolites who are scandalized that he illegally took a large expanse of Government Land to build one of his schools, the Rochas Foundation School. He says he committed no offence acquiring the government land.
His main reason for seeing nothing wrong in that is “I am providing free education to children.”
In an interview with The Nation (Sunday), where he discussed the on-going investigation, of him, by the EFCC, he took exception to the allegations. Okorocha, who is now the Senator representing Imo West, had acquired the land, in the State capital, belonging to the Imo Broadcasting Corporation. The acres of land was meant for the purpose of building staff quarters for the Corporation’s staff.
But Okorocha rationalised: “They claimed that I used government land to build Rochas Foundation Schools that provide free education to children. How has that become an offence? I have told them that if they want the Rochas Foundation School, and they can run it, I am willing to give it to government.”
He, also, faulted the allegations over, and the investigation of, the Eastern Palm University which he located in his village. “I built a PPP University in Imo state where government has shares. If you go there, about 1,320 students from Rochas Foundation Schools across the country are there free. I thought I was contributing my quota to the development of my fatherland. But now, it has become an offence”
But many Imo stakeholders are miffed by Okorocha’s submissions on the Eastern Palm University.
An elder asked: “If there are 1,320 students from the Rochas Foundation Schools across the country studying there free, it means the University is an extension of his personal Schools across the country. The truth is that the government has little or no shares there. It is his personal university, built with Imo people’s money. From the name, you will name. Many of his concerns either have Eastern, or Palm. Check it out.”
Answering a question on the University from one of the Senior Journalists of Imo origin he invited to Owerri a couple of years back, Okorocha had said that the IMSG fund in the University was about N650 million.
He explained that he wanted to relocate the Imo State University, Owerri, to Okpoko, his village on assumption of office, but was met with very stiff opposition from Imolites, especially, from Owerri zone. He was forced to jettison the idea. But by that time, he said, his government had already spent the sum of N650 million on the plan. According to him, that was when the idea of the Eastern Palm University occurred to him. He, therefore, converted the N650 million already spent on the site to government shares in the new University.
The meaning is that Imo State has an interest worth, only, N650 million in the University, which amounts to little or nothing.
But reliable sources at the Imo State Ministry of Education, have put a lie to Okorocha’s claim on the University. They insist that the University was built with billions of Naira of Imo people. One of them alleged, ” The first tranch, I can confirm, is Three Billion Naira. This was followed by other billions which figures I cannot remember exactly now”.
Okorocha also faulted the petition over a number of his concerns which necessitated the EFCC investigation of him. He boasted that he had been a successful business man before this time, and even lost count of the number of properties he has.
Okorocha: “One of the allegations is that my wife built a hotel using government money. The EFCC are asking my wife to prove how she was able to come about that. I told them this is my wife. Rochas, before being governor was bigger than Rochas the Governor. I don’t know how many property I can count because I can’t even remember my property in Abuja.
But, they have blindfolded people not to remember Rochas of before, Rochas that ran for Presidential election three times, the Rochas Foundation that is building schools all over the country, with over 2000 children. It costs me nothing less than N2 billion every year to run Rochas Foundation. They said my wife has to prove how she came about the hotel. Meanwhile, my wife has two hotels in Jos about over 15 years ago. She has a hotel called Lamond Hotels. The Tropicana shopping complex near NNPC Towers belongs to my wife, and by today’s value, that property is worth not less than N15 billion in the market.”
He regretted that his children invested in Imo instead of in Abuja, where, his daughter’s two schools under investigation, by the EFCC, would have generated more money for her.
He said: “Why should my daughter build a school in Owerri that is being investigated? If you talk of building a school where people can pay, it is in Abuja.
“My intention was to sell 50 per cent of my property and return them to Owerri to help my people so that their economy can grow”
Okorocha had been under the EFCC investigation even before he left office as a governor. Days before the governorship election, the Commission intercepted the sum of N5 billion and stopped him from its withdrawal thus, saving it for the state.
In the past weeks, the EFCC have sealed a number of his concerns, and secured an interim forfeiture Order from the court.
But, last week, the court lifted the Order, with a warning to Okorocha, not to sell any of the properties as the EFFC investigation is still very much on course with its investigation.
Okorocha’s government is, also, under probe by Imo State Government in respect of alleged land grabbing and questionable contracts and their execution.
