• Allegation frivolous -Government
George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Pascal Ikenna Ejiogu, has alleged that Governor Rochas Okorocha has been finding it difficult to pay salaries and pensions because Imo State is bankrupt.
Ejiogu, who stated this yesterday when he declared his ambition to run next year’s governorship race said the Okorocha administration is indebted to commercial banks to the tune of N200 billion.
He decried what he described as decadence in the state and accused the current administration of running the state aground.
Ejiogu, who is an industrial chemist and cyber security expert said: “Imo State now depends solely on the monthly federal allocation to survive.
“The current administration has run Imo aground as the state has gone bankrupt; and that is why the governor is not able to pay salaries and pensions regularly, and whenever he decides to pay, he pays only 70 per cent.
“Today, the state’s indebtedness to commercial banks stands at N200 billion, and the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria has advised banks not to lend money to the state as it has exceeded the borrowing limit.
“So, today, the state is 0only surviving on monthly federal allocation,” Ejiogu said.
The governorship aspirant decried the high rate of youth unemployment in the state, which he blamed on the current administration’s alleged inability to provide the enabling environment, which would have attracted investors both within and outside the state.
He said if elected as governor, he would tackle the problem by providing the enabling environment for investors, such as making land accessible to them.
“If elected governor, I will make sure willing investors are provided with lands to site their factories. Already, I’m discussing with General Electric on the issue of power because without regular power supply, there would be no industrial activity in the state, because, we have abundant gas in Ohaji, which we can utilise to provide electricity for the state.”
He promised that if elected, his administration would tap into the state’s agricultural and tourism potentials which he said the current administration has only paid lip service to.
When contacted for reaction, Governor Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, simply dismissed the allegation that the state is unable to pay regular salaries and pensions because it is bankrupt as frivolous.