Former Imo State Governor, Ikedi Ohakim has joined the 2019 Imo Governorship contest. He said Imo state has drifted to collapse and is in need of a regime change.
The Former Governor who spoke to newsmen at his Owerri residence said the State needs an experienced person, someone with institutional memory to take over the mantle of leadership of the State to save it from calamity.
He said “If we do not have regime change in 2019, it will be calamitous for Imo State. A lot has gone wrong in our state. The worsening condition of Imo economy is worrisome. People are dying. Mortuaries are springing up on daily basis. When I was governor in 2011, we had only 11 mortuaries across the state, but now from Aba to Ngor Okpala road alone, we have about 22 mortuaries. People are not asking why it is so. There is no weekend burials are not taking place. Almost every family in the state has buried somebody”
Ohakim said he is running for Imo Governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
He said “I m still in PDP. I have not left the PDP. I m the leader of the PDP in Imo State as the last Governor of the state on the party’s platform. This is a party I rebuilt and made it formidable in Imo State” he said.
He expressed regret over the turn of around of things in the state, lamenting the non- payment of salaries of judges in Imo State for 16 months. He vowed to lead a mass protest in Owerri if the salaries of Judges in Imo State are not paid by March 2018.
Ohakim stated “It is sad that for 16 months judges in Imo State have not been paid. If by March 2018, they are not paid by the state government, I will lead a mass protest to demand the payment of their salaries. If it means going naked on the streets to protest and get them paid, I will do that. During my tenure, judges were paid regularly. Now it is not so. They are owed for 16 months running. Some of them are dead, some are so sick. This is scandalous. This is unacceptable” he said.
The former Governor recalled some of his legacy projects his administration embarked such as the Imo wonderlake that was abandoned by the present administration.
He promised to return Eke Ukwu Owerri market with its modern modifications, restore the private sector and repair the State for the benefit of all.
The former Governor said based on the situation in Imo State he has come under pressure to contest
” I m under pressure to run for the governorship of the State. At this stage, Imo needs an experienced person not a learner because of the situation in the State. We need to repair this state” he declared