The Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Rochas Okorocha has accused Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma of auctioning his personal cars, those of his aides and Rochas Foundation College.
The ex-Imo Governor said the vehicles were impounded when his wife’s Royal Palm Hotel was sealed by the state government in 2021.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police Alkali Usman to direct the Imo State Police Commissioner, Mohammed Barde, to recover the vehicles and documents in them.
But the state government described Okorocha’s allegation as untrue.
Okorocha said in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Sam Onwuemeodo, that he was surprised that the impounded vehicles were not taken to state Police Command headquarters but to the Government House where four have already been auctioned for N4 million.
The statement reads in part: ”The government has gone ahead to auction the private cars of the former governor of the state, those of his security personnel, those of his aides, political associates, those of Rochas Foundation College and so on, who were with him on the day the attack at Royal Palm Hotel took place. In doing that, they had thrown caution to the wind.
“ln all the cases involving Okorocha and lmo State Government, including the one decided by Justice Njemanze (rtd), which is now at the Appeal Court, the government never mentioned Okorocha’s personal cars and those of his aides, associates, his security details, Rochas Foundation College, et al.
“There are also valuable materials and documents in some of the vehicles, including international passports. One had expected that the Police would have taken all those items or materials and documents into their custody.
“We call on the Inspector-General of Police to get the Commissioner of Police in lmo State to release the vehicles taken away from the Royal Palm Hotel on February 21, 2021. Other important documents in some of the cars should also be retrieved. The Police have some explanations to make.”
But the state’s Information and Strategy Commissioner, Declan Emelumba, told The Nation that Okorocha was raising a false alarm.
He said that Royal Palm Hotel which has yet to be unsealed is now government property.
The commissioner said: “The place is still been sealed. You can see that he(Okorocha) is not telling the truth…
”At any case, the government has seized that place and it does not belong to Okorocha again. It is government property so how can government sell its own property. The truth of the matter is that he is raising a false alarm. Police are still there.”
* Courtesy: The Nation
