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From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre( RULAAC, Okechukwh Nwanguma has called on the Imo state command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC to investigate the alleged vandalisation and looting of government installed water project equipment in Umuokpo village in Adakam Amumara autonomous community in Ezinihitte council of Imo State.
He also called on the NSCDC to ensure that those behind the alleged vandalisation and looting of equipment are apprehended and prosecuted and the stolen equipment duly recovered .
In petition to the NSCDC Imo state, the Executive director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwanguma reads in part:
“Villagers woke up about 2 weeks ago to witness massive vandalisation and carting away of dismembered equipment and raised the alarm. Videos of scenes within the precincts of the project site reveal dismantled and massively vandalized installations with tools such as gas cylinders and others suspected to have been used for the dismantling and dismemberment of the equipment before carting most of them away.
More than two weeks after the village raised the alarm about this disturbing development, the community leadership has remained mute and has done nothing known to the entire Adakam community which is the host community for the government project.
This is in spite of the further information that the ‘people’ also previously visited the Palace accompanied by ‘a lawyer’ whobpresented some documents to the traditional ruler which they claimed was evidence that ‘their company’ had bought the project from the state government.
The people of the community are in serious doubt about the genuineness of the claim by a yet to be identified ‘company’ that government sold to them a government water project installed at huge cost.
The more curious thing about this whole episode is how this ‘company’ could have waited for more than 8 years after the administration they claimed to have sold the project to them left office before they came to claim it.
Could it be true that the administration of former governor Rochas Okorocha sold a government project to a private company? Who are the owners of this company? Is it also true that the current government under Senator Hope Uzodinma approved the sale of the project instead of completing it to serve the purpose that the project was conceived and initiated to serve?”
RULAAC, on behalf of the community members, calls on the NSCDC to spare no effort to unravel the truth and if they find that the claims are false- as they seriously suspect- all those responsible should be brought to book, the already stolen equipment recovered and further stealing of the remaining ones prevented.”
