Frontline politician in Imo State and former Commissioner of Information and Tourism, Chief Vitalis Ajumbe has accused the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha of coming after him because he dumped the governor for another APC leader in the State.
Ajumbe is a known political ally of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, an APC top chieftain who has put a fierce resolve to take over power from Okorocha in 2019.
Ajumbe has been embroiled lately in an untidy skirmish with some agents of the Imo State government who are insisting that he returns an official vehicle assigned to him when he served Okorocha’ s government as a commissioner.
Ajumbe in a statement to this newspaper said the matter is before a Court of law.
He accused the governor of owing him his statutory allowances which ran into several millions of naria.
Ajumbe pointed out that the official vehicle, an INNOSON pick up van was part of his entitlement as a commissioner as he barely received 50% of his statutory salary when he served the Imo State governor.
He recalled how he joined Okorocha’s political camp which was on the prompting of the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere, recalling how he never made any demand on the governor then despite his (Okorocha’s) insistence.
The Statement reads:
“Yesterday, September 18, 2017 at about 2.30pm, I received a letter from Comrade Jeff NWOHA, General Manager of Imo Entraco and chairman of the adhoc committee on recovery of Government property set up by Imo State Government specifically because of me for leaving him to join another APC leader who is running for Governor come 2019. The property I guess they are referring to could be the INNOSON PICKUP VAN vehicle assigned to me as a commissioner which I believe was part of my entitlements as a commissioner as I received about 50% of my statutory salary and did not receive any of my statutory allowances running into millions of Naira.
“This issue in question is a matter of litigation before the Federal High Court Owerri in suit NO. FHC/OW/CS/109/2017.
“The manner in which the letter they served me was celebrated and dramatized on government sponsored social media shows clearly that they are on vendetta mission. This makes me to recall my Governor’s words to me when he met me at a function recently with a prominent APC leader, “so you have abandoned me, you have abandoned your master”, which I took as a joke.
” Prior to the election of 2015 when the Deputy Governor came to me and pleaded that his ‘OGA’ sent him to invite me for a discussion, I accepted because of my relationship with the Deputy Governor as an alumnus of my school. On the agreed date, I invited the leadership of my group, three persons per senatorial zone who went with me and the Deputy Governor for a meeting with His Excellency at his Spibat residence which lasted till about 2am. Our Governor requested two things from me viz; (1) if I could work with him in open or underground. (2) To make my demands which he said that he was prepared to fulfil there and then. In my answer before my group which included, VINCON Uwakwe-Uwandu, I told the Governor that I shall be open as I was not under anybody. I also told him that I was joining him without any condition. He pressed on me to make a demand but I told him that the only demand I could make was for him to win the election.
“I joined him without ANY condition and therefore should be allowed to leave without ANY condition.
My issue now has called for reasoning for those in government now and before that a precedence has been set. History has also been made that any appointee or government officer MUST relinquish all items assigned to them while in office after leaving office irrespective of the conditions attached” he stated.
