Imo In Huge Debt, Says Chris Anyanwu

Senator Chris Anyanwu has alleged that Imo State is neck-deep in debt. Anyanwu made the claim while declaring her intention to contest the governorship election of the state on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The senator, who addressed her supporters while formally declaring for the gubernatorial contest in Owerri, Imo State capital, accused the state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, of plunging the state into huge debt despite reportedly collecting about 50 per cent more revenue than what the administration of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim, got in four years.

“This state has never had it so good in terms of funding, yet its development is stunted, superficial, unsustainable, and unaligned to the core needs of Imo people,” she stated.

According to her, the increased income had not impacted positively on the lives of the people, but “instead life has become harder today for the average Imo person than it was between 1999 and 2007.”

The gubernatorial aspirant added that the state’s external debts alone were equal to those of Anambra and Abia states put together, alleging that the local debts of the state were estimated to be about N50 billion. She said the governor borrowed the sum from local banks.

“The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a result of which the commissioner for finance and accountant general were invited and are today out on bail,” Anyanwu said.

She regretted that the governor had not stopped borrowing from local banks, saying: “He is not letting Imo people know what he is doing with all the loans that he has borrowed.”

The chairman of Senate Committee on Navy disclosed that Imo’s alleged rising domestic debts, high rate of unemployment, falling standard of education and wide-spread poverty combined to create a bleak future and threatened to change the character of the people.

Anyanwu said she would offer the people quality leadership that would bring the state back on track, adding that the state needed “a sober person that will simply govern, make sure that the people benefit from governance and ensure that Imo money is kept in Imo to develop Imo for the good of Imo people.”