Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha, has been in the news in recent times for frivolous reasons. Last week, he constituted his cabinet, about ten months after the dissolution of the Imo State Executive Council.
On December 4, Okorocha swore in 28 new commissioners and 81 transition committee members of the local government councils in the state. At the swearing in ceremony, the state governor had described the appointees as ‘’the privileged group that has the opportunity to make names for yourselves, and put your signatures in the sands of time.’’ The government, Okorocha had warned, ‘’shall not tolerate any sharp practice or corruption of any type. Neither shall we accept indolence or laziness. You have been called to duty to help us achieve our vision in the Rescue Mission Project”. Significantly, the newly created Ministry of Happiness and Couples’ Fulfillment and the appointment his sister, Mrs Ogechi Ololo as the commissioner, raised eyebrows and the issue has been trending in the media.
In an attempt to defend his principal, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo said “the real essence of life is to be happy and to fulfill one’s purpose in life; government officials are elected to address this. This is the very reason people elect their leaders: to guarantee their happiness and purpose fulfillment. A great leader therefore, is one who provides happiness to the people”. Okorocha’s action and Onwuemeodo’s explanation, according to analysts, is the peak of comedy from a governor who has reduced governance to theatrics.
Governance as a family affair
Significantly, apart from reducing governance to comical levels, Governor Okorocha is said to be running Imo state both as a family affair and a private business. The governor, with reckless abandon, has been appointing family members as commissioners, directors and chairpersons of state institutions.
In 2016, Secretary to Imo state Government, George Etche had revealed that Okorocha’s wife Nkechi, was in charge of Ministries of Women Affairs, Works and Health. Before her new appointment, Ogechi Ololo was the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Special Adviser on Domestic Matters.
In addition, it is widely believed that Okorocha wants his son in-law, who also doubles as the Chief of Staff, Mr Uche Nwosu, to succeed him in 2019.
Presidential statues
Last October, the Imo state governor took hospitality to absurd heights, when President Jacob Zuma of South Africa visited him. Apart from honoring Zuma with the highest Igbo traditional title of Ochiaga(the great warrior), a street was named after the South African president.
To cap it all, a giant statue was erected in his honour. Significantly, Okorocha had received bashing from within and outside Nigeria for wasting state resources on frivolities. Smarting from this, the governor ran into similar controversy, when the Liberian President, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf came calling.
Like Zuma, she was also honored with Chieftaincy title of ‘Ada Di Oha Nma’, literally meaning a ‘daughter that is pleasing to all and sundry’ and a statue. Both statues, according to reports, gulped over one billion naira.
As always, spokesman Onwuemeodo came to the defence of his boss. According to him, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), for the 12 years that it held sway, ‘’never attracted any meaningful visitors to the state except PDP NEC members who were coming to l
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