Okorocha turns Imo Monarchs to APC ward Chairmen—APGA guber aspirant.

Former commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Planning and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship aspirant in Imo State, Chief Charles Onyeagbako, has accused Governor Rochas Okorocha of turning traditional rulers in the state to All Progressives Congress (APC) ward Chairmen.

Also, he said that Okorocha has debased the traditional institution and “turning monarchs in the state to APC ward chairmen” by giving them contracts to grade their community roads.

Onyeagbako who spoke at the party secretariat in Owerri, said “the N500,000 road grading contracts given to the Ezes will mark the beginning of another crisis in many communities in the state because some of the traditional rulers may not be able to account for all the money, and as a result, they will be insulted by their subjects for embezzling community money”.

He lamented that autonomous communities and its recent creation in the state had become a political instrument. “We’re going to revisit the creation of autonomous communities and when you look at the autonomous community’s creation law, you find out that most of the communities we parade today do not worth villages. What we have here a political instrument whereby the governor who wants support from a place goes there to create autonomous community.

“For instance, every autonomous community to be created must have its own secondary school, must have an indigenous market and other structures. There is need to revisit these autonomous communities to determine whether they are qualified or not. Even some of the Ezes know within themselves that they are not qualified to be Eze but because of the kind of system we run”,

Onyeagbako, a lawyer added that the proliferation of autonomous communities had reduced the personalities of traditional rulers to the extent that none of them could be a march to others from the other parts of the country.

On the question that this might stall his chances of getting votes from the people of the state he said: “I know I am saying this at the risk of losing your votes, but the right thing must be done and the interest of the generality of the Imo people must be protected. I cannot for the sake of losing the people’s vote and promise to do an illegality”

On what he will do to reclaim the state from recession to economic boom, the lawyer-turned politician opined that his rich political pedigree and impeccable character puts him ahead of others to reposition the state.

He lamented that the Okorocha’s administration had destroyed every democratic institution that makes it possible for economic recovery, stating that the state executive council under the governor is a one family affair, while judiciary and legislature had been annexed to the governor’s office.

He assured the people of the state that with him on the saddle, the institutions would be brought back to life and made independent.

He assured the people of the state that three months into his administration, he would conduct local government election to enable the dead councils come back to life and re-invigorate grassroots development.

He further promised that due process would take precedent in his administration, saying it was because of absence of laws that the governor and his cronies were grabbing lands at will within the state.

Val Okara, Owerri.