Okorocha Sacks All Commissioners In Imo State

Rochas Okorocha, Governor of Imo state, has terminated the appointment of the state executive council and 27 local government transition committees, with immediate effect.

Pascal Obi the principal secretary to the governor, in a statement on Tuesday, May 30, directed all former members of the executive to hand over to permanent secretaries or the most senior director in their ministries.

Okorocha who did not give any reason for the action, said he appreciated the immeasurable contributions of the affected appointees to the success recorded by his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Obi stated that the secretary to the government, the chief of staff, chairmen and members of statutory commissions such as ISEC, Civil Service Commission, and the local government service commission were not affected.

Also not affected in the cabinet shake-up are; the state universal basic education board, the judicial service commission, and the house of assembly service commission, Obi clarified.

“The governor also dissolved the 27 transition committees (TC) of the 27 local government areas in the state.

“The transition committee (TC) chairmen are advised to hand over to the directors of administration and general services of their respective council areas.

“The governor appreciates the contributions of the TC chairmen to the success of the rescue mission and wishes them well in their future endeavours,” the statement reads.

On May 29th while briefing journalists as part of activities marking the 2017 Democracy Day, Governor Okorocha had confirmed speculations that he would “sieve his core loyalists from his appointees” by reshuffling his cabinet soonest.

“I am definitely going to rejig my cabinet for the final onslaught. I will bring in new blood into the system and drop those that no longer have anything to offer,” Okorocha said.

According to reports, the shake-up of the State Executive Council is connected to an intra-party crisis of confidence rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Currently, the All Progressives Congress, APC, family in Imo State, has been dichotomized into the anti- and pro-Okorocha groups. Moreover, the anti-Okorocha group is further split by either zonal sentiments or the gubernatorial personalities, Vanguard reports.

Already, the likes of Chief Uche Onyeagucha, who was Okorocha’s appointee, has not only resigned his appointment publicly but also went further to point out the governor’s “sins”.

More so, speaking of Ifeanyi Araraume’s gubernatorial ambition, a source in the Owerri Government House disclosed that “the governor appears not too favourably disposed to hand over to Araraume” adding that the governor has urged those preaching zonal political engineering in the state, to stop dreaming.

“Those thinking of zoning are completely uninformed of today’s political realities. Those thinking of zoning are educated illiterates. As far as Rochas Okorocha is concerned, zoning is dead in Imo”, he said.

On the planned local government election scheduled for September this year, Okorocha said that he has been briefed on the cost implications of the poll.

“I have been briefed on the cost implications of the local government election. I have come to realize that it is very expensive to execute it. I am even thinking of using Option A4”, Okorocha said.