Two issues will dominate this discourse. I believe it is premature we allow politics of 2019 to dominate far more important issues that affect our people.
2019 is two years away from now and politicians are already harassing us with their ambitions.How does the verdict of the Supreme Court on the leadership tussle in the PDP or the cold war going on in Imo APC affect the welfare of the people of Imo State?
My good friends have been wondering why I have refrained from writing on political issues as it affects the State. And I tell them this is not the time for politics. This is the time to hold our leaders accountable and ensure they fulfill their numerous promises to us. It is a time for stock taking.
What should be paramount in our minds is how our State governors can make effective and judicious use of the second tranche of bail out funds released by the Federal Government.
Many States had complained over the first tranche of the funds which in some states were not used for the purpose it was released which is for payment of workers. Rather we heard tales by moonlight on how some governors used proxies to divert part of the funds when the first tranche of the bail out came.
In Imo State, the bail out funds are coming at a time that the monies are needed. I get goose pimples when I see old men and women sprawling on our tarred roads in the guise of protest, crying for payment of their dues. It is really a sorry and pitiable sight. It’s man’s inhumanity to man.
Okorocha has no excuse not to effectively deploy second tranche of the bail out funds and ensure that these men and women who put in their toil and broil are paid the fruits of their labour.
This is not the time for endless audits. Pensioners in Imo State say they were audited more than three times before they received their entitlements.Many of them in their frail and poor state have died from painful exercise.
The audits can be so gruelling and discomforting. The intentions may be right but it is wrong when it is applied for sinus reasons-making them look like beggars for monies that is due to them.
I have refused to accept the State government gospel that there are ghost pensioners and it is one of the major reasons why paying pensioners is a burden. I call it tactical delay tactics. An audit is not an excuse to keep our fathers and mothers under the sun just for them to get their due.
Okorocha has the opportunity now, to engrave his name in gold by ensuring that there are no cock and bull stories about payment of workers salaries and that of pensioners.The bail out funds are not for projects. We have seen enough projects in the State both those that are substandard and those of good quality.
The second issue is the menace of flood that is ravaging the State. Imo State is among some states in the federation that was listed to be flood prone this year.
I m yet to hear what the State government would do to ameliorate the situation by the time it goes out of control. We cannot wait to be submerged by flood before measures are taken to arrest the situation.
Areas such as Akwakuma, Amakohia and most parts of Owerri are easily taken over by flood when there is a little downpour. This is a clear indication that most of the construction works in Owerri metropolis are poorly done.
We should not hide under the cover of the prediction of the Meteorologists for possible flooding in the State to fold our arms and watch the flood come to our doorsteps.
