By Valentine Amanze
Online Editor
The last may not have been heard on the media war between the Anambra State Governor, Dr Willie Obiano, and the Imo State counterpart, Chief Rochas Okorocha. Despite the appeal by Igbo leaders for a ceasefire, Okorocha, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, has challenged Obiano to publish his achievements as the governor of Anambra State, stressing that he (Okorocha) was ready to do same.
He stated that with the way Obiano had talked both in the first and second attacks that “it was easy to conclude that the Anambra governor was not the one talking but “X.O”, which he fancies a lot.”
Okorocha also pointed out that he has never lived overseas, insisting that his wealth and popularity were all products of hard work and God’s grace.
Leveraging on his popularity, Okorocha said that he defeated an incumbent governor in 2011 on the platform of APGA that had no structure before he came on board.
The Imo State governor also said that Anambra State has remained as Obiano met it. “Awka the state capital has remained as Obiano met it. Government House Awaka has remained like that. Let him prove us wrong. That is what we want to achieve. Owerri, the Imo State capital, today has eight-lane roads courtesy of Okorocha in his urban renewal programme. Douglas House has been remodeled and given a facelift, two fly-overs, three tunnels, 500 kilometres of urban roads, International Convention Centre (IICC), and remodeling of all the premier schools, all in Owerri, the state capital.
“I have built new universities including Eastern Palm University Ogboko, Aboh Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala University of Agriculture & Vetinary Medicine, Ihitte Uboma College of Education, Imo College of Advanced Studies, 800 kilometres of rural roads, 305 Upstair school buildings in the 305 wards in the state, 27 general hospitals.
“Sam Mbakwe Airport is today International Cargo Airport. The free education programme in Imo has remained productive that the state has maintained its lead in JAMB applications and admissions since 2012. The record is there for verification.
“The school enrolment has gone from 280,000 in 2011 to 800,000 in 2015 because of the free education. The poverty level in the state in 2011 was 57 per cent but in 2015 it came down to 19 per cent, according to United Nations report, because parents now channel the money they would have used to pay fees to other economic ventures.”
He said that
Obiano engaged in what Ndigbo would regard as Ikuonu (talking frivolities) when he talked about salaries, advising that a conscious governor should be making valid statements. Okorocha further disclosed that his government has paid salaries upto December 2016 and also cleared arrears of Pensions upto December 2016 based on the understanding with pensioners in the state.
“It is left for Obiano to do the needful by publishing his achievements and stop shying away from this people-oriented challenge,” he said.
“We are not concerned about noise-making occasioned by “X.O.”. We are waiting for Obiano to publish his achievements in Anambra State. If he fails to do that, we will go ahead to publish ours. The era of too much noise is gone since action speaks louder than words. X.O.” is a brand of Hennes ,” he said.
