The Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has demanded probe of a ‘strange’ fire which led to the avoidable destruction of properties worth millions of naira in the Ezinihitte Mbaise local government area (LGA) headquarters of Imo State.
The fire incident which occurred on February 1, coincided with the dissolution of all local government sole administrators (SOLAD) in Imo State by Governor Hope Uzodimma.
A statement by RULAAC executive director, Okechukwu Nwanguma said the probe of the fire becomes necessary as some people are already blaming the fire on a former Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodimma on Narcotics and illicit drugs, Eze Ogbonna, who is said to be one of the staunch supporters of the immediate past SOLAD of Ezinihitte Mbaise local government.
According to those making the allegation, the former Special Adviser was quoted to have made a ‘threat’ that ‘something will happen in the local government that will ‘shock all of us’.
He was said to have made the ‘threat’ on Wednesday, January 31. By Thursday, February 1, ‘the mystery fire occurred’. This led to the suspicion that he may have done it, especially going by his alleged past record of violence.
They claim he may have done it to destroy alleged evidence of misappropriation by his political ally, Hon. Chukwuma Ojukwu who was the former SOLAD of the Ezinihitte Mbaise local government.
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RULAAC said it has reached out to the immediate past SOLAD and confronted him with this alleged threat attributed to one of ‘his allies’. But that the former SOLAD exonerated the former SA and explained that he made the statement in reference to something different, which was an expectation of a certain political appointment (that would surprise people) and nothing to do with the fire disaster.
He argued that someone who wanted to burn a building probably to destroy evidence would most likely target the administrative building where vital documents are kept. But that this wasn’t the case as the administrative building was not affected.
RULAAC said other sources have blamed the fire on alleged perennial neglect of the local government facilities by past SOLADs. One of them argued that ‘questions must be directed to (the) Chairmen that superintended the Council in the last four years. He accused them of abandoning the council secretariat to animals and rodents.
A political commentator accused the immediate past SOLAD, like others before him, of abandoning the local government facilities and of ‘non performance’. He, argued, strongly that the disaster would have been averted or its intensity and the extent of damage minimized had the ‘past administration done their work well’.
Corroborating this line of argument, one Engr. Kingsley Onwubiko who described Ezinihitte LGA as the most neglected and backward in the state said “I can tell you that what has happened smacks administrative failure. The immediate past headship should be held accountable for allowing forests to envelope government Properties’.
Many of those who blame the incident on the former SOLAD query why he kept the local government departments and principal officers redundant, especially the HOD Works & the Supervisor for works under whom there are labourers and casual workers entitled to monthly salaries who could have maintained the premises and kept the environment clean.
According to Engr. Onwubiko Kingsley, ‘had these workers whose job includes cutting grasses and making the environment clean been engaged and paid their monthly wages, the condition of the LG environment that aggravated the disaster would have been ameliorated’.
RULAAC believes there’s an urgent need for official investigation to unravel and resolve this incident.
It therefore demanded that Imo State House of Assembly Member representing Ezinihitte State Constituency Dr. Henry Agbasonu must formally bring this incident to the attention of the State House of Assembly for prompt, exhaustive and effective investigation to unravel the persons and or factors responsible for the ‘strange’ and avoidable fire disaster and the attendant damage and loss.
“All those found culpable must be brought to book and made to pay for the losses. Measures must be put in place to avoid a repeat of the tragedy,” RULAAC said.
RULAAC also call on the Imo state governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma to summon all the past SOLADs of the Local government in the past 4 years and have them account for what they have done with all the funds made available to them for the running of the local government and for community development projects.
“They need to offer explanations why they failed to do their jobs,” RULAAC insists.
