A governorship aspirant in Imo State, Mr. Frank Nneji, has expressed worries over the N93 billion debt profile of the State.
Nneji, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ABC Transport, promised to institute the Imo First Policy if elected governor of the State next year.
Nneji, who is aspiring to run for office under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), disclosed this while interacting with journalists and businessmen in Owerri.
He noted that Imo witnessed positive and people-oriented growth during the late Sam Mbakwe era, arguing that anybody who aspires to govern the State from 2019 should be ready to start from where Mbakwe stopped.
Nneji, a native of Ezuhu-Nguru, Aboh Mbaise Local Area, lamented that the State is currently witnessing misrule in spite of the fact that it is endowed with no fewer than 163 oil wells 42 years after its creation.
“Imo is ranked 34th among states on ease of doing business in Nigeria. It is easier to do business in other 33 states than in Imo. Katsina and Bauchi are higher in ease of doing business.
“This is comparative analysis from sub-national index. We will institute Imo First Policy.
We will ensure anything we can produce will be made in the State. We will not go outside Imo to import.
“I have a draft bill of Imo State Business Agency, which I will present to the House of Assembly if elected. I will ensure that the House passes it under my administration to boost trade, commerce and other industrial activities.
“Imo has about N93 billion debt profile from the Debt Management Office (DMO of 2016. Definitely, it has grown more than that.”
Meanwhile, Governor Rochas Okorocha has given further insights into why he preferred his son-in- law Uche Nwosu to succeed him as governor, contrary to the opposing views, saying he would be greatly missed when he leaves office next year.
Okorocha said he has done enough for the people to miss him after he hands over to a successor in 2019.
The governor listed free and qualitative education programme in the State and more than 1000 verifiable projects as some of the reasons he won’t be forgotten by Imo people.
Okorocha maintained that Imo people will definitely look back with admiration at his 8 years in office.
The governor said he has repositioned the State for better after repurchasing all the assets sold by previous administrations in the State.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, the Okorocha said, “The free education programme in the State, which some opponents of the government had tried to discredit when it was introduced, has yielded obvious remarkable results.
“And aside the School enrolment in the State snowballing from 381,000 in 2011 to more than One million in 2017, the State has continued to lead in JAMB applications for the Seventh time now.
“The State has also continued to do very well in WAEC Exams. For instance, in the 2018 Senior School Certificate Exam (SSCE), the State came fifth out of the 36 states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory.“