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Breaking: Supreme Court Rules Dariye Must Serve 10yr Sentence

By
Bayo Bernard
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By Tosin Olatokunbo

Former Governor Joshua Dariye will serve his 10 year prison sentence, the Supreme Court has ruled in a judgement delivered on Friday.

A five-man panel of the court, led by Justice Mary Odili, in a unanimous judgment on Friday, upheld the 2018 Appeal Court judgement that convicted the ex-governor.  It also quashed the one-year sentence imposed on him by the Court of Appeal for misappropriation of public funds.

Apart from Justice Odili, other members of the panel include Justices Ejembi Eko Helen Ogunwumiju,  Lawal Garba, Samuel Oseji and Tijani Abubakar.

The apex Court upheld Dariye’s concurrent conviction and sentence by the trial court and the Court of Appeal on the offence of criminal breach of trust.

It also quashed his conviction and sentence in relation to the offence of criminal misappropriation.

Dariye had, in his appeal, prayed the Supreme Court to upturn the November 16, 2018 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years for diverting public funds estimated at N1.162billion while he was the Governor.

On June 12, 2018 a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Stephen Adah upheld the judgement by Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT) which convicted the former governor.

 

The trial court convicted Dariye on 15 counts relating to the offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation contained in the 23-count charge on which he was tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In upholding Dariye’s conviction, the Court of Appeal agreed with Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, the proseccution counsel that Dariye breached public trust.

But the Appeal Court faulted the lower court for convicting Dariye on counts 12 and 23, which it said the prosecution did not prove.

The court also reduced the 14-year sentence for the offence of criminal breach of trust to 10 years, which the Supreme court has now upheld.

NNPC Says Old Petrol Price Remains After Public Backlash

By
Bayo Bernard
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0
By Tosin Olatokunbo
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has disclosed that petrol depot price has not changed, at least for the month of March . The clarification comes amidst public fears that marketers will begin to sell the product for N212 per litre, after the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA announced on Thursday that the landing cost of the product has gone up.

 According to the PPPRA, based on the average cost for the period, February 1st to 28th 2021, and an average FMDQ Importer and Exporter (I&E) Naira/US Dollar Exchange Rate of N403.80, the expected retail price of PMS for March 2021, stands at N209.61 per litre and N212.61 per litre, being the lower and upper band respectively.

Following the public backlash the PPPRA has now deleted the new price template from its website.
Details later……

Ihedioha Held No Meeting With Ogbuagu |The Source

By
The Source
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By Charles Igbo

The immediate past Governor of Imo State, The Rt Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has dismissed, as a lie from the pit of hell, that he met with, and held a meeting with Hon. Uche Ogbuagu, the recently removed Majority Leader of the Imo State House of Assembly in London, or anywhere.

Ogbuagu, you would recall, defected from the PDP to the APC, as soon as the Supreme Court removed Ihedioha as Governor, and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma Governor.

Ogbuagu’s defection shocked not a few people in the State, especially, the PDP family, as he was seen as one of Ihedioha’s close allies. The closeness did not stop him, however, from defecting along with many others, including then Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly, Hon. Chiji Collins

Incidentally, it was alleged that Collins and Ogbuagu were the anchors of the defection by most Assembly members from the PDP, where they were in absolute majority, to the APC.

Indeed, for the PDP family, it was a betrayal, especially on the part of Collins who was anointed  Speaker during the Ihedioha Government, a couple of days after he decamped from APGA to the PDP. He was allegedly sponsored to the House by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, a perennial Imo Governorship aspirant/candidate. On defection, Collins remained the Speaker

However, both Collins and Ogbuagu have since fallen by the way side in their new party, the APC. After months,  ridden by crisis, Collins was sacked as the Speaker of the House. His colleagues gave him the boot by impeaching him. On impeachment, he was suspended from the Assembly, but the suspension was lifted a few days later.

This order day, Ogbuagu was surprisingly sacked as the Majority Leader of the Assembly, a position he was said to have been given as compensation for his alleged role in the mass defection of  PDP members to the APC.

His sack as the Majority Leader shocked him, as it did many watchers of the Assembly. Owner of two Private Radio Stations, not a few people thought he would be indispensable to both the Assembly and the Government because of his ownership of the two media outfits.

It is not known, yet, why he fell out of favour, but speculations were high that he fell on the wrong side of the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu, a man regarded as the most powerful member of the Assembly based on his relationship with the Governor.

Ogbuagu was not even present when he was removed. His first reaction confirmed it. He said he was  on his way to the House of Assembly when he heard of his purported removal, a removal that was well celebrated by his former party members in the PDP. Serves him right, many of them proclaimed.

Uche Ogbuagu
Uche Ogbuagu

Thereafter, he made public a  letter of resignation which he claimed to have officially submitted before his sack. In the letter, he said he was voluntarily given up the office, and now preferred being a floor member.

But not a few people dismissed the letter as an after-thought, asking why he did not make it public earlier than he did.

Why wait until he was officially sacked?, people asked.

However, in the past couple of days, a couple of rumours have been making the rounds that Ogbuagu could face a suspension from the party. Another is that a number of them, including Ogbuagu and Collins, plan to re-defect to the PDP.  The third rumour is that Ogbuagu and Ihedioha met in London where both of them held a meeting. That, the rumour said, was why he was sacked as the Majority Leader.

While neither Ogbuagu nor Collins has denied the rumour of regretting decamping to the APC, and planning to re-decamp to the PDP, Ihedioha, has strongly rubbished the purported meeting between him and Ogbuagu. He described it as fake.

In a statement, Ihedioha’s Media Aide, Chibuike Onyeukwu, said there was no such meeting.

Proof: His Principal, he said, has not travelled out of the country, since the era of  COVID-19 in 2020.

He said the story of the alleged meeting as carried by an Online medium and other social media outlets,  was a lie from the pit of hell.

Many think that whoever fed the medium with the false story wanted to achieve two things.

One: Cause a little panic within the APC that it is about to lose a member. That could raise, again, Ogbuagu’s political profile which seems a little low since after his sack as Majority leader.

Two: Give the impression that he was persecuted because he was being wooed back to the PDP by no less a person than Ihedioha, just so if, and when he does that, it would be said that “Ihedioha asked him back and he was sacked because he met with him.”

Either way,  Ihedioha’s reaction through Media Aide, Onyeukwu, has pulled the rug from under the feet of such thoughts.

Following, the full text of Ihedioha’s reaction, signed on his behalf by Onyeukwu.

PURPORTED LONDON MEETING OF RT. HON. IHEDIOHA AND UCHE OGBUAGU, FAKE NEWS, MISLEADING

“Our attention has been drawn to a fake news syndicated in the social media through  elombah.com, an online news platform.

“We wish to state clearly that the purported report, captioned: “Exposed: Alleged London Meeting with Ihedioha, Reason, for Uche Ogbuagu’s Removal as A majority Leader’ is fake news, misleading and a handiwork of blackmailers.

“It is noteworthy to state that His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha CON, has not been out of the country since the Covid pandemic started in early 2020, and its attendant effect on global travel. The purported meeting therefore could not have happened and so its a figment of the writer’s imagination.

“The purveyors of this unfounded report should settle thier political scores and  leave His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha CON out of it.

“The public is enjoined to disregard the falsehood in its entirety.”

Lagos CP, Odumosu, Deploys More Security Personnels To Island, Mainland To Curb Crime In The State |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Hakeem Odumosu - Lagos State Police Commissioner

By Akinwale Kasali

The alarming rate of armed robbery in the  metropolis in the  past month, has forced  the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, to change tactics.

As a first step, he has deployed additional mobile policemen to embark on massive raids of blackspots and criminal hideouts on the Island, while other detachments will focus on the mainland for sting operations.

In order to have well coordinated operations, the Commissioner of Police has detailed the “Baker” and Operational Commander, CSP Dalhatu Muazu, to work on the intelligence gathered from the identified balckspots and criminal hideouts in the areas and decimate their activities in order to maintain law and order and have public safety.

The police boss however warned that the operations must be devoid of excessive use of power, violation of human rights and brutality. He charged the operational Commander and his teams to act according to the provisions of the law.

Odumosu reiterated that the operations are continuous until the state is rid of hoodlums and “bad boys” whose ideas and plans are to foment troubles and cause pains to Lagosians in the state. “No room for them in Lagos State”.

The CP urged the general public to support the police and share useful information that can boost effective policing of Lagos State with the police.

AFCON Under-17: CAF Dashes Hopes Of Youngsters |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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CAF Logo

By Akinwale Kasali

It came as a big surprise to the entire football fraternity in the continent, following the announcement of the cancellation of the Under-17 African Cup of Nations Championship slated for Morocco. It was supposed to begin this weekend.

The Ahmad Ahmad led Confederation of African Football, CAF, announced that the tournament have been cancelled following the Covid-19 pandemic which prompted restrictions on traveling in the North African State.

Already, five countries had arrived the venue of the tournament before the cancellation order by the Continent football apex body.

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria had been scheduled to jet out to Morocco today, Thursday, before the sad news broke, dashing the hope of the youngsters who had been camped, and preparing for this tournament.

In one of the friendly matches played by the Eaglets, it thrashed Bayern Munich football Club of Germany Under-17 team 5-2 to announce its preparedness for the continental showpiece.

The National team Golden Eaglets had qualified for the championship having come second at the West Africa Football Union, WAFU, tournament.

No doubt, the cancellation of the championship will, in several ways, affect the future of the players, as they won’t be able to showcase their talents to attract prospective offers from Europe and across the world.

This will also limit their chances of dorning the national team Jersey as the players would be disbanded, putting an hold their future, soccer analysts and enthusiasts opine.

Those Calling For My Arrest Are Clowns – Sheikh Gumi |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, has  given reasons why the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration cannot arrest him as clamoured by the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Afenifere Groups and other Socio-Cultural, Security and Economic Groups. He  dismissed those calling for his arrest as clowns.

Gumi stressed that he cannot be arrested or prosecuted for interacting with bandits in the north.

Recall that there have been growing calls on the Government to arrest and prosecute  Gumi.

A group known as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) stated that Gumi’s interaction with bandits was a treasonable offence that should be decisively dealt with.

But speaking to the media,  Gumi stated that Kaduna and Zamfara states had, also, negotiated with bandits in the past and no one was arrested.

The Cleric, also, disclosed that his interactions with bandits were done in the presence of government officials.

Gumi said: “Those are clowns, even the Kaduna State governor dialogued with them, Zamfara governor dialogued with them.

I’m not the first person that started dialoguing with them (bandits). I only added value, and I find them to be religious; religion is the only thing that teaches you that blood has sanctity. So this is the religious angle.

“I’m trying to gather them and teach them that there is sanctity to life. They cannot kill, rape and so on. This is the addition I hope will work. Note, I never visited these bandits without a government official, but they are in the background.

“All the bandits we met were with government officials, and that is why I said those calling for my arrest are clowns.”

Speaking further, he stated that his interaction with bandits in the North-west has yielded instant positive results.

“My interaction with bandits has yielded instant results. When you are dealing with somebody engrossed in criminality, if you approach him as a policeman, you will have a problem but if you come to him as a pastor, he will confess all his sins to you.

“So we approach them as clergy, and they feel comfortable to vomit all their problems. Hence, we see how we can appease and help them.

“We are not approaching them as an authority but from the spiritual angle. You know every human being has that spiritual influence, and that is why we are adopting that.”

Ondo: NURTW Executives Sacked, National Chairman Constitutes Caretaker Committee |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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NURTW Members

By Ayodele Oni

Following unending clashes between rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) in Ondo state, the National leadership of the union has announced the dissolution of executives across all levels.

The clashes, which started about fortnight ago, over control of motor parks, have led to the suspension of the union activities from motor parks twice by the State Government.

National President of NURTW, Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa, made the announcement in Abuja on Thursday,  said it takes immediate effect.

According to him, the National leadership of the union has also initiated the process of immediate setting up of Caretaker Committee, to be led by Chief Olalekan Folorunsho, the South West Zone 2 Chairman, to oversee the affairs of the union across the state.

Baruwa who cited the NURTW constitutional provision in Article 42 Sections 5, 6 and 7 as the basis for the decision, explained that the move was aimed at ensuring proper reorganization of the entire structure of the union in the State.

“With this announcement, union executives at the State administrative council, SAC level, all branches and every Unit hereby stand dissolved as Contained in Article 42 Section 7 of the Union Constitution.”

The NURTW President stated that the national leadership of the union would follow due process in investigating the dastardly attack in Akure, the Ondo state capital which led to loss of lives.

He vowed to bring perpetrators to book, while working in line with the provisions of Union’s Constitution to ensure that the selection of members of caretaker committee would be done across board with a view to boosting the performance of members and promoting their welfare.

He encouraged the union members to cooperate with those saddled with responsibility of addressing the challenges confronting NURTW in Ondo State and advised commercial drivers to go about their daily activities without hindrances and avoid acts capable of jeopardizing the peaceful atmosphere in the State

Alhaji Baruwa who commended the Ondo State government for the timely intervention in the crisis, pleaded for a review of its decisions relating to the operations of the NURTW in the state, assuring that members would ensure improved service delivery and good conduct in their activities.

Finally, Akeredolu Replaces Aragbaiye As Ondo Head Of Service |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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John Adeyemo- Ondo State Head of Service

By Ayodele Oni

A new Head of the Ondo State Civil Service has been appointed. Mr John Adeyemo, was on Thursday named by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to the office.

The Governor’s approval, which is in consonance with provisions of section 208 sub section 3 of the constitution, was sequel to the retirement of Mr Dare Aragbaiye.

Aragbaiye, was to have retired last year after his mandatory retirement age, but his tenure, as Head of Service, was extended by Governor Akeredolu, which drew mixed reactions from the workers.

The appointment, according to a statement by the Chief Press secretary to the Governor, Mr Richard Olabode,  is in recognition of Adeyemo’s track records of years of dedication, trustworthiness, reliability and efficiency.

Prior to his appointment as Head of Service, John Adeyemo, mni, was the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Orientation. Adeyemo joined the state public service in 1990 as an Administrative Officer II.

He was, for many years, the Chairman of the Administrative Officers Forum ( ADOFOM) where he provided leadership and mentorship for officers in the elite corps administrative officers cadre.

An astute and experienced administrator, John Adeyemo has traversed almost all the MDAs in the course of his career in the state public service and rose through the ranks to the position of Permanent Secretary before his appointment.

He is a member of many Professional Organisations including: National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) , Nigerian Institute of Management (nim) ,Chartered Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria (CIPAN) among others.

Governor Akeredolu, in his congratulatory message to the new appointee, charged him to sustain the current robust relationship among the state workforce, Labour leaders and the government while pursuing excellence in the state public service.

The new Head of Service will be sworn-in on Friday, March 12, 2021

Watch An Officer and a Gentleman, And You Will Understand Meghan Markle |The Source

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The Source
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Reno Omokri

By Reno Omokri

The Meghan and Harry interview actually proved to me that a large percentage of people are very emotional and are prepared to believe the worst things without the least proof, until they themselves become the victim of unsubstantiated stories, at which point we will hear things like ‘this life’, ‘people are wicked’.

An unsubstantiated claim means a claim or allegation, which could be true or false, because they are not supported by evidence.

I use to be very naive until I became a Presidential spokesman and thus suddenly was the target of unsubstantiated allegations. Some of which are that I stole government money, bought a billion naira house at Asokoro (a highbrow neighbourhood of Abuja), and that Linda Ikeji was my girlfriend, and that I set her up in business.

The main individual behind these smears against me is now enjoying a romance he does not like with Muhammadu Buhari.

As Mark Twain once said, a lie will fly around the whole world while the truth is getting its boots on.

That Meghan and Harry interview, in my opinion, was propaganda by a skilled manipulator. Why do I say this?

Manipulators love crisis, because in crisis situations, they do their best work. And where there is no crisis, they will contrive one, And how do you know a manipulator? You look at their previous relationships.

Meghan has a family. What was her relationship with her own biological father? I do not want to repeat some of the things he said about her, but it is sufficient to say he lives as a broken man.

What about her own sister? She was her own tale of woe about Meghan. And her tales are too sordid, so I will not repeat them.

She was married before. Why did that relationship crash? The man has his own story, but let us give Meghan the benefit of the doubt.

The Sussexes got married on May 19, 2018, and they announced their decision to split from the British Royal Family on January 8, 2020.

So in 18 months, Meghan went through this unbearable hell? Well, it is possible. But when you examine their Oprah interview, their main grouse about the royal family is that they refused to protect them from the media even though the ‘firm‘, as Meghan calls the court of Queen Elizabeth II, protected other members of the royal family.

I schooled in England. And I have been a constant visitor of the UK since I was 12 years old. Any unbiased watcher of the British press knows that the Queen cannot even protect herself from the British media, talk less of protecting others.

The British press has made mockeries, caricatures, and been so mean spirited to the Queen, that she described 1992 as an “annus horribilis”, saying further that “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”.

Why did the Queen say that? Because the British press had excoriated her and her family with one contrived or real scandal after the other.

Look at how she had to throw her own son, Prince Andrew, under the bus, last year, over his links with the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein. If she was so powerful, why did she not save Andrew from the British media?

Meghan Markle is older than Prince Harry and more experienced. She knew what she wanted.

Look at how the two of them threw up charges of racism, because someone in the royal family discussed what complexion their baby would be. This may or not have happened. But let us assume it did. To say that her son, Archie, was denied a princely title because of his skin colour is just not true.

Her son was never going to be a Prince, except Prince Charles ascends to the throne. It is not a birthright, as she claimed. She probably was not aware of the 1917 law proclaimed by George V on this issue.

That protocol reads:

“The grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of this realm.”

What the above means is that only Prince Williams’s children (being the direct male line), are eligible to the title of a Prince.

Personally, I think Meghan married Harry because she thought her children from the marriage would be princes and princesses.

If you ever watched the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, you would understand Meghan. In that movie, a Naval cadet named Sid had a girlfriend named Lynette, who was pressuring him to marry her. When he would not marry her, she convinced him she was pregnant.

As a result of her pressure, and without telling her, Sid left the Naval academy and went in joy to ask Lynette to marry him. Lynette was horrified that he had dropped out and she said she could not marry him, because she actually wanted to be married to a naval officer. And that was why she targeted him. She also said she was not pregnant.

Stunned, Sid checked into a motel and committed suicide.

Meghan wanted to have a son that would be a prince. Unknown to her, great grandchildren can’t be princes. She did not Google it well. When she found out the true situation, the royalty lost all the attraction it had for her, and the loss of her freedom to speak to the media and act in movies and feature on E online and other gossip TV and websites suddenly did not seem worth it.

So she left, and took her wife with her. Yes, her wife, Prince Harry, AKA Sid.

We have seen it in Nigeria before. A certain celebrity married a certain man, thinking he was the son of a former Nigerian President. She had thought her children would have that name brand, that would make them and her like royalty.

But when she found out that the man was not the son of who she thought he was, and that her son would not have that esteemed title of being the grandchild of a former President, the scales fell off her eyes and the marriage became unbearable.

Look, even if Queen Elizabeth II and her entire family kneel down to greet Meghan Markle each morning, and tremble before her, as long as the Queen does not change that 1917 law that prevents great grandchildren of the monarch (except great grandchildren from the direct male heir to the throne) from becoming prince and princesses, Meghan would still have found a way to accuse them.

She did not know about that law. She schemed, but was blindsided, and caught off guard. In fact, she confessed during the interview that she did not have sufficient knowledge of royal family protocols. She just assumed her children would automatically get the title. And as we all should know, assumption is the mother of frustration.

It is silly for Meghan to say that her son would not be “safe” if he is not made a prince. If safety was her concern, then why has she courted so much publicity since she and her wife decided to split from the royal family.

Princess Eugenie is a grandchild of the Queen, like Prince Harry. She had a son. He did not get a title. Yet he is fully White. Yet, he is safe.

Prince Edward is the Queen’s son. None of his children got titles. He is White and he is safe.

The safety concern, in my opinion, is just a ruse to hide Meghan’s real disappointment.

But, let us assume that everything Meghan said is true. Is it worth destroying the royal family because of her own experience in 18 months of living with them?

It was not necessary to throw them the £32 million pound wedding they had. They had already been married in secret. The marriage was a favour to them from the Queen.

If the Queen was really racist, she would not have had such a wedding for Harry. She did not have that type of wedding for her son, Prince Edward, or for her grandchildren from her other children.

Meghan and Harry did not even spare a thought for what the 94 year old Queen is going through, with her husband of 74 years, Prince Philip, in very poor health and in hospital.

I was sickened to see what people were saying on social media about the Queen, and her husband.

Prince Harry said his father stopped taking his calls, and asked him to put anything he had to say in writing. I would do the same thing too if I had a son who would repeat what I say to him privately in public and misrepresent it. At least if it is in writing, it cannot be denied, and there are limited opportunities to misrepresent a written statement.

Omokri was a Presidential Aide during the President Goodluck Jonathan Government

Imo: Okorocha Backs Down, Wants Peace With Uzodimma |The Source

By
The Source
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Rochas Okorocha

By Charles Igbo

Former Imo State Governor, and Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, seem to have backed down from his threats over his seized properties in Imo by the Imo State Government. He is now preaching peace.

“But for what has been done to me, I am human, I can bear it just for the  purpose of peace to reign”, he told State House Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

Okorocha had gone to the State House to see Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and even though he told the Correspondents that he went to say hello to the VP, it is believed that his visit was over his feud with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.

The very cold relationship between the two, which dates back to the contest for the Imo Governorship election in 2019, and  has been neither here nor there since Uzodinma was sworn-in as Governor, worsened when Uzodimma refused to disband the various Judicial Commissions and Panels of Inquiry into the Okorocha administration which he inherited from former Governor Emeka Ihedioha.

Uzodinma had come under pressure from Okorocha to disband the Commissions and Panels, accusing Ihedioha of witch hunt, but met a brick wall when  Uzodimma insisted they were for the good of the state and refused to disband them, to the anger of Okorocha.

It is the implementation of the Whitepaper paper based on the reports of the Commissions/Panels that has raised the ante of their feud.

A couple of weeks ago, the State Government had sealed and seized a multi-billion Naira Luxury Estate, Royal Palm Apartments & Hotels, belonging to Okorocha’s wife, Nkechi. But to the consternation of most Imolites, Okorocha, along with his sons-in-law, aides and supporters, went and unsealed the Estate, broke the key to the gate in a bid to repossess the property. In a viral video, Okorocha was seen and overheard, along with one of his sons-in-law, commanding his followers to break the keys to the gate, and unseal the property. “I Will sleep inside here today”, he said.

They were confronted by Government officials. Policemen arrived the scene later, and  arrested 15 of them, including Okorocha.

They were, thereafter, detained at the CID section of the Owerri Police Command. The next day, 14 of them were charged to Court. But Okorocha, who was released in the early hours of Monday, due to pressure from above, and alleged ill-health, was supposed to appear in Court, as he promised, by 10.00am, did not show up. Instead, he addressed his supporters at his Owerri residence, castigating  the Governor.

Days before the incident at the Royal PalmEstate, the State Government had, also, recovered the Eastern Palm University, a State approved University, which Okorocha appropriated to himself  insisting that his Foundation  entered into partnership with the State Government over the University.

According to him, his Foundation owns a 90 percent stake, while Imo State Government owns a paltry 10 per cent.

However, the Panel of Inquiry on Lands and Other Related Matters discovered that not only was the University approved for the State, Okorocha allegedly funded its development to the tune of N20 billion Naira, from the State Treasury.

Since the Government began the implementation of the White Paper on one of the Panels – Lands and Other Related Matters, Okorocha has been running helter skelter in a bid to stop its implementation. This magazine gathered that he has been visiting a number  of high profile individuals across the country to put pressure on Uzodinma to stop.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of Vice President Osinbajo to listen to him.

Senator Hope Uzodimma
Governor Hope Uzodimma

Addressing State House Correspondents, later, Okorocha said he wanted peace. But, in another breath, said he was unaware of what he did wrong. He said he was being persecuted. He said his son-in- law won the 2019 Governorship election, but was denied the office. He said he brought his children to invest in the State, instead of investing abroad.

He said he was yet to be told the exact offence he committed.

He said that initially, the State Government had claimed he funded a number of the properties with State funds, but is now saying that he built them on parcels of land meant for the new Government House, and verge area.

He said he was Okorocha before he became Governor, and still remains Okorocha after being Governor. Meaning that he has always been rich.

However, the questions being asked by Imolites, which answers Okorocha did not give State House Correspondents are; What were Okorocha’s wife  children, siblings and sons-in-law doing before he became Governor? How much was each of them worth? From where did they get funds to acquire the hundreds of billions of Naira  worth of properties and solid investments, scattered all over the State, especially in Owerri, the State capital?

How did they manage to acquire all that prime land in  Owerri Municipal and environs?

Dan Nwanyanwu, an Imo son, and Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, in a recent interview said he was shocked to hear Okorocha claiming this other day that he was richer than the State.

Nwanyanwu, former Chairman of  the Labour Party, LP, where Okorocha was, also, a member, said that the former Governor, in the months ieading to the 2011 Governorship election, did not have enough funds to prosecute the election. “He came to me”, Nwanyanwu said, “and said he didn’t have the upto  N10 million Naira with him. He said for that, he would defect to APGA, which already had a structure,” Nwanyanwu’s worry then:

“How did, Okorocha, suddenly acquire so much money to be richer than the state?”

However, Okorocha who told  the Correspondents that he made a sacrifice by becoming a Governor will not reject an intervention for peace  between him and Governor Uzodinma. Asked by the Correspondents if there is a possibility of his party, the APC, intervening since he and the Governor belong to the same party, he said it was his expectation.

He wants peace in the State, he said.

However, a cross section of Imo people say they would not  support any reconciliation that would allow Okorocha get away with his alleged “loot” of the State.

At a recent stakeholders meeting in Owerri, attendees  which cut across every who is who in the State, mandated the Governor to recover every property, every kobo, that belongs to the State, taken away by anybody, no matter how highly placed. And so did Imo Elders, and Traditional Rulers from Orlu Zone, the Zone to which Uzodinma and Okorocha belong.

Warning Uzodinma or anybody who would dare intervene, and ask that an agreement be reached with Okorocha, in order to forgive  him, or leave the “loot” for him, Nwanyanwu said ” Aside from that not being possible, it will be an unforgivable sin against the State and the people of Imo State”

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