APC responsible for Nigeria’s woes, says Okorocha

The Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, on Monday admitted that the All Progressives Congress is responsible for Nigeria’s woes.

He said although some of the problems predated the present administration, the party must take responsibility without shifting blame.

Okorocha spoke with State House correspondents shortly after leading the APC governors to a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The governor said, “As APC, we are responsible for everything happening in Nigeria. We are responsible for the good, the bad, the ugly but we are promising Nigerians that we shall fix it.”

While admitting that Nigerians were passing through difficult times, Okorocha said there was no surgery that is not painful.

He said Nigerians were experiencing pains because the country was going through what he called “a very serious economic surgery.”

The governor asked Nigerians to be more patient with the present administration.

He said, “We share the pains of Nigerians, every human being must feel it. We also feel what they are going through but we are asking for a little patience.

“Let us do things the right way and do it once and for all. I am sure that by next year, you will begin to see changes, the price of rice will drop, prices of dollars will begin to stabilise and we will see a lot of challenges.

“But at this painful moment, nobody likes it. It is like a woman in the labour room, when she is in the labour room there is no joy but she has to pass through that moment and that moment, she does not wear her high heel shoes, no makeup, no champagne, no party.

“She is going through a process but shortly after that process, joy cometh once she sees the child. So, Nigerians should bear with us as a government.”

Okorocha said the governors discussed a lot of national issues at the meeting including the 21 released Chibok girls, agriculture, the ongoing anti-corruption war and the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State with the President.

Imo State Government Intervenes To End Artificial Fuel Scarcity

The artificial fuel scarcity experienced on Friday in all parts of Imo state seems to have been resolved following the intervention of the Imo State government.

This was after hours of dialogue between the men of the Nigeria Security And Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), members of the Imo state Independent Petroleum Marketers and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association, Imo State chapter.

The news came as a shock to residents of Imo State as they woke up on Friday morning to discover that petrol stations across the state were under lock and key.

The artificial scarcity was said to have been as a result of the alleged harassment and intimidation of tanker drivers by the NSCDC officials which recently led to the accidental shooting of a tanker driver.

The tanker driver is purportedly lying unconscious at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia state.

Most of the petrol stations visited in the Owerri metropolis were locked, as people were seen gathered at entrances of the petrol stations waiting for positive news.

Commuters were also seen stranded at various bus stops within the city.

Solidarity Protest

It was also gathered that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Of Nigeria Imo state chapter, had gone on strike, as a solidarity protest following the continuous harassment of tanker drivers by the NSCDC officials.

This according to the Chairman of the Independent Marketers Association in the Southeast, Bobby Ebere Chidick, is a regular occurrence.

“This is not the first time this will happen, it’s been happening, intimidation and harassment of our drivers, we had to take this step this time around because it’s pertaining to life and death.

“One of our drivers has been shot by the Civil Defense, he’s lying unconscious at the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia,” he said.

In justifying their actions, he further stressed that “it is a solidarity protest to try to notify the government of the activities of the Civil Defense”.

He said the duty of the NSCDC was to secure pipelines rather than monitoring trucks. He insisted that the matter must be resolved once and for all.

Confirming the incident, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone E of the NSCDC, Ben Dikuro, explained that the it happened accidentally in the course of discharging their primary duties.

He however debunked allegations of intimidation and harassment by his men, saying that the NSCDC will continue to discharge their duties as regards transpiration of petroleum products.

According to him, “we got an intelligence report about illegal diversion of petroleum product around Okigwe axis.

“My men swung into action and in the course of doing their duty, there was a misunderstanding and accidentally a driver was shot in the leg”.

In defense, he explained that it wasn’t intentional, adding that he had sent a team to the hospital to look after him.

Meanwhile, the state government immediately called for a meeting between both parties to resolve the issue and avert any harsh effects it might have on the masses.

The outcome of the meeting with the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere, was however positive as both parties resolved the issues amicably and the petroleum marketers promised to re-open as soon as possible.

“Thank God the Imo state Deputy Governor has intervened, we have been in a meeting since the last 4 hours and we have resolved to reopen our business”

The chairman of the Independent Marketers Association said.

EFCC re-arrests and detains former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa

 

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today re - arrested the former governor of Imo State Achike Udenwa in connection with alleged campaign scandal at the last presidential election. Udenwa as a State Co-ordinator for The Presidential Campaign Organisation in Imo State was said to have collected the sum of N350,000,000 (Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) from the former senator representing Kaduna South and Director of Finance for the PDP presidential campaign organisation, Nenadi Usman.

The suspect, in his statement to the Commission admitted receiving the money via Diamond Bank account No.0058805692 and 005950791 respectively on the 14th and 28th of January 2015 in three separate instalments. He added that the money came from a company named Joint Trust Dimension Limited. This same company was charged alongside MrS Nenadi Usman and the Media Director of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani Kayode before Federal High Court Lagos on a similar allegation.

Investigation however revealed that Achike Udenwa and one Viola Onwuliri, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Minister for Education, who was his deputy at the Presidential Campaign Organization were the two signatories to the Diamond Bank account that received the money.

Upon his arrest, Udenwa was immediately granted administrative bail by the commission with condition that he should be reporting to the commission at an appointed time. But while enjoying his administrative bail, Udenwa chose to deliberately skip reporting, thereby compelling the commission to revoke his administrative bail pending his arraignment soon.

Achike Udenwa was a governor of Imo State under the flagship of People’s Democratic Party between 1999 and 2007 and became a minister of Commerce and Industry between 2008 and 2010 under Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.