From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Governor Hope Uzodinma has accused the former governor of the state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha of gloating over the recent security breaches in the state.
“He is reaping political capital over the unfortunate incidents and had even gone ahead to incite northerners against the government and people of imo State”, the government declared.
Uzodinma who reacted through the State Commissioner for Information, Chief Declan Emelumba said the former governor instead being sober about the incident was even fuelling the matter to further his political interests.
The commissioner noted that apart from the fact that the former governor has not openly condemned the Imo attacks,he had been busy inciting northerners against the state.
According to him, it was curious that just few hours after Monday’s attacks, some northern youths slated a press conference where they carpeted Gov Hope Uzodinma and effusively praised Okorocha.
He said the youths who were acting a script written by the former governor even went as far as calling on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in imo State.
Chief Emelumba averred that it was not a mere coincidence that the words used by the northern youths in the text of their press conference were the exact ones repeated by the former governor in his “unsolicited advice to the Governor”
He also noted that the reference made by Okorocha on how he used to fraternise with IPOB and militants,suggests that he was still in touch with them and could even have used them to cause mayhem in the state.
“It is a direct slap on the face of Imo people for Okorocha to say that the cause of the security breaches in the state was poverty and injustice when he greatly impoverished Imo people by mindlessly appropriating their commonwealth in a most unjust manner, as established by the judicial commissions of inquiry that investigated his tenure in office” he said
The commissioner further said that it was regrettable that Okorocha went to the north to castigate Igbo leaders just to get in the good books of northerners.
“Do you know the collateral damage that rascality and indiscretion has cost Ndigbo? As I speak, Northern youths are planning attacks against Igbo property in the north because someone chose to sell out for political patronage”
Emelumba said Okorocha was actually the one politicising the security situation in the state and not Governor Hope Uzodinma.
However, Okorocha reacting through his media adviser Sam Onwuemeodo said they will reply at the appropriate time but he added that “Nigerians knows the truth, they are only making themselves a laughing stock, why didn’t they stop or catch the people.”