Charles Ajunwa
9 July 2009
Lagos — Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Goodluck Opiah, has raised an alarm that some highly placed politicians in the state are infiltrating the House with a view to destabilising the government of Governor Ikedi Ohakim.He said those politicians wanted to use the House as a launching padto get even with the governor because of unfulfilled politicalaspirations.Speaking at the special Session/Public Lecture organised by theAssembly to mark its second anniversary and 10 years of democracy,Opiah lamented that the agent provocateurs were yet to relenteven when hey have been rebuffed by the Assembly.
His disclosure came as the Dozie-Mezie Owerre Central Council, a non-partisan group, flayed the N18.5 billion bond recently undertaken by the Imo State Government , saying that the bond arrangement is "unwarranted and unnecessary."
It claimed the step taken by the state government , apart from further impoverishing the people of the state, would bring untoward consequences for the state.
The group's Director of Publicity, Mr. Kelechi Anyanwu , in a statement made available to THISDAY, noted that government's decision to enter into such financial arrangement now "smacks of lack of sensitivity for a government to utilise bond to fund water, roads and the development of Oguta Wonder Lake with a repayment schedule from 2016."
According to the group, "This strategy was utilised by late Governor Samuel Mbakwe in the 1980s to fund infrastructural projects. This later culminated in a debt trap peonage for the state. It is unfortunate that the state under Governor Ohakim (Ikedi) is following this weather beaten route without recourse to future financial implication for the citizens of the state who would be forced to bear the brunt. This is a step towards debt trap that would bring untoward consequences for the state."
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