Imo State Government yesterday declared that it is more interested in safeguarding the lives of the citizens rather than the preservation of the disgusting and harmful legacies of the Okorocha administration which constitue serious threat to lives.
It dismissed the allegation by former governor of the state, Senator Rochas Okorocha that the government was busy demolishing his legacy projects including the Imo International Conference Centre.
In a statement issued in Owerri, yesterday, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba regretted that Okorocha was placing his ego above the safety of the citizenry.
Emelumba said it was by sheer grace of God that the Centre did not collapse and claim innocent lives before now.
According to him, the government has the responsibility to secure the lives of both citizens and visitors by ensuring” that anything that constitutes a threat to them is addressed”
The commissioner noted that experts had since advised the Government that both the international conference centre and majority of projects executed by Okorocha, including the scandalous turnels, were substandard and hence threat to the safety of people.
He wondered the kind of pleasure the Government will derive from the demolition of facilities built with taxpayers money.
” Those projects were built with taxpayers money and not Okorocha’s personal funds. What is at stake here is the safety of people, not non existent legacies”, he submitted
Emelumba said the only legacies left by Okorocha for imo people were massive looting of state resources, tyranny, lawlessness nepotism and substandard constructions
” It is instructive that two so called inland bridges built by Okorocha have collapsed, the police headquarters he built on porthacourt road is falling apart, so are all the other projects he built” the commissioner noted
He said it was laughable for Okorocha to accuse Gov Hope Uzodinma of not constructing roads whereas the Chukwuma Nwoha, Relief Market, worldbank roads, the Mohamadu Buhari road linking porthacourt road through federal Secretariat to worldbank,among 42 others were testimonies of Uzodinma’s massive investments in road infrastructure.
He also declared that the remodeling of roundabouts in Owerri were conspicuous to debunk the lie by Okorocha that” only block work exists there”
Emelumba said no amount of bare faced lies and blackmail by Okorocha will stop the Government from its primary duties of protection of lives and property of Imo people and visitors.