Rough times may await administration officials of Governor Rochas Okorocha, as Governor Emeka Ihedioha has made it clear that those who plundered the commonwealth of the people will be held accountable.
Ihedioha in his inaugural speech at his swearing in at the Dan Anyiam stadium, Owerri,on May 29, 2019, said while he will not embark on witch hunt anyone, those who held positions of authority must prepare to render account.
Ihedioha’s predecessor, Rochas Okorocha had announced that he kept N42.5 Billion for Ihedioha. But the new Governor seems to bent on bring “the fire of probity and accountability” to those who should give account.
He said“In the light of recent revelations by interest groups, various institutions and agencies of state, many have asked what becomes of those who recklessly plundered our commonwealth. My answer is simple: They will be held accountable. While this administration will be forward looking and not embark on any witch-hunting, those who have held positions of authority must prepare to render account of their stewardship to the people because our resolve to hold their feet to the fire of probity and accountability is iron-clad.
“We must tell ourselves the ‘frank truth’ about the state of our State. We cannot play the ostrich pretending that all is well when indeed we are in a deep hole. Imo is broken and the climb out of the depths of despair will be steep, arduous and tortuous. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious, and they are numerous. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time”
He however said with courage, problems of the State will be surmounted
“But let no one underestimate our resolve to do what is right for the good of our people. There is nothing wrong with Imo which cannot be cured by all that is right in Imo. Imo State will, as always, endure. Imo will revive. Imo will prosper again. The task of rebuilding our broken State is a sacred one. It must be done. We are armed with the courage of our conviction. We are not captives of fear, for if we were, we would not have dared and if we did not dare, this day would not have come.
He said his administration will focus on land administration which he said has been a vexed issue over the past 8 years.
He assured that the Imo Stat Geographic and Information, which has been moribound, will be revitalized to address illegalities and lack of Due Process , transparency and near privatization of land administration in the State.
“You will agree with me that the matter of land administration in the State has been a vexed issue over the past 8years, characterized by illegalities, lack of due process and transparency, or even near privatisation. To address this, we shall revitalize and reposition the moribund Imo State Geographic Information Agency (IGIA).
“We shall also institute appropriate measures to review all land allocations made by the immediate past government, and of course, where necessary, revoke or revert to original purposes. I consider this an irreversible obligation to Ndi Imo.
He outlined plans of funding of his government ambitious programmes
He said “On financing our ambitious projects and programmes, we shall introduce innovative strategies to optimize Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), through ICT platform solutions designed for complete revenue cycle management and business process automation. In doing this, we shall strive to balance revenue goals with social justice imperatives. We shall introduce a Treasury Single Account (TSA) where all government receipts and revenue will be domiciled. This will enhance transparency and accountability of government revenue and increase the IGR component of our financial standing.
“Our government shall work out arrangements, in co-operation with the federal authorities, leveraging on our experience, contacts and competencies for various government programmes to our comparative advantage. We shall equally key into the other funds available at both the federal level and from the multi-lateral agencies.
On some of the projects embarked on the past administration, he said “
In light of the above, we shall assess the quality and number of projects undertaken by the previous government to determine their viability, propriety and where necessary we shall complete them to ensure continuity and save funds for the State. In the same vein, those that fall short of established architectural and engineering design and standards will be discarded.