Why Okorocha Sacked LG Transition Committee Chairmen

The dissolution spree of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo St\te which
has touched Transition Chairmen and members of the caretaker
committees of the local government areas of Imo State has been
attributed to several factors.

One of Okoroch's top aides, in a statement said the Governor sent the
transition committee members of the 27 councils packing after weeks of
speculation that they will go the way of other Exco members who served
Okorocha in the just concluded first tenure.

The dissolution which did not come as a surprise package to the
chairmen can be said to be the apogee of heightened disaffection
between the governor and the TC Chairmen over management of funds
allocated to them for developmental projects in the past.

Trumpeta reports that Okorocha who was miffed at the manner the TC
chairmen began to plot their removal moments after he came in for the
second term.

It would be recalled that in the wake of the 2015 campaigns and to
make meaningful impact at the grassroots controlled by the councils, a
substantial amount of money was released to the council chairmen. The
gesture from the governor saw each of the TC Chairmen receive not less
than N30m to renovate and rescue ailing council secretariats in the
state. Government House authorities who were monitoring the projects
noticed defaults in the execution of the projects.

Of all the chairmen, two council chairmen during an interactive
session with Okorocha at Government House, Owerri only stood tall and
were exonerated from verbal lashes.

Only the two; chairmen of Oru West and Ezinitte were given attention
while an aggrieved Okorocha asked others to go and fine tune their
projects. The governor was also said to have left them empty-handed
and refused to pay them their monthly entitlements. It was at that
point the chairmen knew their days in office had been numbered.

Another factor that contributed to their removal was the incessant
bickering between the respective council bosses with their TC members
as well as leaders. This newspaper was informed that the governor was
disturbed by phlethora of complaints trailing the co-existence of TC
chairmen and their members, complaints from leaders of APC in the
councils had continued to flood the governor's office over conduct of
some chairmen.

The "fail and fail-out" order given to the sacked chairmen before the
2015 election was the last straw that broke the camel's back in the
misfortune that befell the chairmen. It was learnt that the governor
who was embarrassed that some TC chairmen lost in their booths and
wards during the March 28, and governorship election suspected
anti-party reasons for APC failure in the affected areas. That gave
reasons for their removal.

Meanwhile, the sacked chairmen have been given grace till Friday
before handing over to the DAGs of their respective LGAs.

—Trumpeta