BARR .STEVE ASIMOBI attracts investors to Imo State, received by Chief of Staff, IMGH, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu

The Special Adviser( Lagos Liaison) to the Governor of Imo State, Barr. Steve Asimobi has boosted the efforts of the State Government in Industrialization of the State by attracting a foreign investor, a Business Mogul: YONH CHEE SIONG to the State.

Speaking to Government House Press , Barr Steve Asimobi informed that the CRONUS ENERGY PTE LTD is one of the leading Energy Companies in Singapore and has interest to explore Africa with their unique Technology which uses Palm Oil to produce lubricants of various grades.

Barr. Steve maintained that the Senior Manager of CRONUS ENERGY PTE LTD, YONH is in the State for mutual business relationship which when put in place will provide thousands of jobs for the people of the State.

He maintained that the choice of Imo State was facilitated by the availability of the basic raw materials which is Palm Oil.

In response, the Chief of Staff, Imo State Government House, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu assured the investor that Imo State is endowed with different types of Raw Materials. He informed Mr YONH that the basic raw material mentioned is readily available in the State because according  to him, there is large Palm Plantations in the the State .

The Chief of Staff described the use of Palm Oil to produce Engine Lubricants as another breakthrough in research.

He thanked the Special Adviser to the Governor of Imo State, Barr. Steve Asimobi for his patriotic act of bringing an investor with ground breaking Technology on Palm Oil to the State . He urged him to keep up his good work at Lagos Liaison Office , noting that his good record will continue  to speak for him.

Speaking further, he assured the Singapore investor of providing enabling environment for his business to succeed.

EFCC picks Oronsaye for N240m fraud

The President Mohammedu Buhari led fight against corruption and other financial sharp practices is yielding fruits.

The anti graft agency ; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has re-arrested a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, for an alleged N240m fraud.

EFCC is already prosecuting him on 24 counts charges on money laundering before he was arrested again on Tuesday for fresh charge.

Mr Steve Oronsaye  is alleged to have abused his position as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force and is unable to account for the sum of N240million which he obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria in the guise of assistance to the committee without the knowledge of other committee members and proceeded to convert the said sum to his personal use.

The rearrest came about eight months after a federal court in Abuja ordered him released from detention after he was docked for alleged N6.2billion fraud.

Information has it that EFCC arrested him from his Abuja residence at about 4.30 pm Wednesday concerning a different case and  grilled  investigators handling his case.

“What we are doing now is simply dotting the ‘I’ and cross the ‘ts’. Investigation is almost concluded and the suspect will be charged to court any time from now,” one of our sources said.

Mr Steve Oronsaye was appointed Head of Civil  Service to the Federation in June,2009 under the PDP led administration. It is also on record that he commited one of the biggest financial crime under Presidential Jonathan’s Administration.

EKITI FINANCE COMMISSIONER QUIZZED. ..FAYOSE IN TROUBLE

The Department of State Services has arrested and detained the Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Toyin Ojo.

He was said to have been detained since Monday when he reported at the national headquarters of the service in Abuja.

Our correspondent also gathered that the service had invited two other commissioners in the state.

The commissioners are Owoseni Ajayi(Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice) and Mr. Kolapo Kolade(Local Government Affairs).

It was gathered that the security operatives had equally invited a member of the state Judicial Service Commission, Mr. Obafemi Adewale.

Ojo joined a member of the state House of Assembly, representing Efon Alaaye Constituency, Mr. Afolabi Akani, and another member, Mr. Musa Arogundade, who is representing Ado Ekiti Constituency 1, who have been undergoing interrogation at the DSS office in Abuja since Friday.

Also in the DSS net is Mr. Ropo Ogunjobi, who was recently sacked by the governor as the Chairman of the state Internal Revenue Board.

The government of Governor Ayodele Fayose is said to be undergoing what a security source described as “multi-faceted probe over sundry allegations.”

A former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Temitope Aluko, had alleged that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave Fayose $35m to prosecute the June 21, 2014 governorship election in the state.

Before that money was given, Aluko further alleged that the former President had given Fayose another $2m to enable him to win the PDP governorship primary.

Though Fayose had yet to openly deny the allegation of the money allegedly given to him, he had said he was helped by many people during his quest to win the governorship election.

Aluko was also the star witness for the governor while Fayose was defending his election at the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal

The commissioner for finance was said to be undergoing interrogation on how the N5.2bn that was said to have been paid to the state for the money spent on federal roads during the regime of former President Goodluck Jonathan was spent.

OWELLE ROCHAS OKOROCHA TO SPEAK AT CHATHAM HOUSE, LONDON

TOPIC :   Nigerians' Human Capital and State Education Initiative: 

The View From IMO State.

The Executive Governor of Imo State, Chief Dr Owelle Rochas Okorocha OON will be a guest speaker at the famous Chatham House , the Royal Institute of International Affairs, an independent policy Institute, London.

The Governor who responded to the invitation from the Management of the World Famous Policy Institute London traveled yesterday, Monday, 7 March,2016 via Port Harcourt International Airport by 7:30pm.

In a release signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo, the Governor had with him few top Government officials to witness the event and will deliver a Speech on the Topic :

***Nigerians' Human Capital and State Education Initiative: The View From IMO State. At Chatham house.****

This epoch making event will hold on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at Chatham House.

ime is 12:30 to 1:30 London time. 

Chatham House which was founded in 1920 engages Governments, the Private Sector,Civil Society in Open Debate and Confidential discussion on most Significant Development in International Affairs.

Each year,Chatham House invites Leaders and individuals who have proved track records of purposeful Leadership for speech as a way of tapping from their wealth of wisdom.

It is a thing of honor that Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Nwafor Igbo, will be the Speaker in Chatham House London, 2016 program and will be speaking on a topic

**that made him standout from the crowd of past leaders

** a program that has reduced poverty level in Imo State from 50% to 19.8% according to UN report,

**a program that has empowered the children of the poor to go to school,

**a program that has lifted the burden of high cost of education off the shoulders of majority of the parents who are low income earners and peasant farmers,

**a program that has produced the first set of graduates from higher Institutions in Imo State both indigenes and non indigenes

**a program that resurrected the hopes of those that dropped out of school as a result of inability to fund their education

**a program that churned in more responsible and educated people into the system thereby reducing drastically the rate of crime in Imo State

***and many more

The choice of Owelle Rochas Okorocha to speak at the international level is a pointer  to the fact that the Governor is has good records before the global view meaning that all efforts to bring him down using propaganda, lies, deceits and politics of calumny are fruitless.

It is on record that Chatham House hosts only high Profile Speakers from around the world.

Recent Speakers include :

Shinzo Abe,  David Cameron, Aung San Suu Kyi, Christine Lagarde, Madeleine Albright, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , Abdullah Gui, Ban Ki - Moon and on 26th of February, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari.

I urge all Imolites both home and abroad especially those residing in London to wish him flawless speech delivery...

I WAS NOT ARRESTED BY EFCC . ..DR PASCHAL OBI

By Nwadike Chikezie

The Principal Secretary to Imo State Governor, Dr Paschal Obi has refuted the rumour making round that the Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC arrested and detained him alongside two other officials of Imo State Government House.

This was in reaction to the rumour making rounds as was published by Sahara Reporters, an Online Media outfit; before being grabbed by other Media Outfits for commercial publications in other to make money from the public.

Speaking from his Office in Government House Owerri, Imo State, Dr Paschal Obi described the rumour as false, fictitious and unfounded. He maintained that he was never arrested because he committed no crime that would warrant such and wondered why politics of calumny would be a common practice encouraged by the Media practitioners.

Dr Paschal narrated that in line with the desire of the Federal Government Policy to ensure judicious utilization of the bailout fund which was made for the payment of Workers Salaries, the EFCC called on States to submit their records for verification, an exercise designed to be carried out on all the States that received the bailout fund from the Federal Government.

Responding to the questions from Journalists who were professional enough to verify information before publishing, the Principal Secretary to Imo State Governor, Dr Paschal noted that in response to telephone invitation, he travelled to EFCC Office in Enugu, (not Abuja) located at Plot 106 Federal Government Collage Road, Independence Layout, Enugu, Nigeria with the Director of Accounts, Government House of the State and other relevant officials on Wednesday, 2nd march 2016.

He went further to state that on getting there; they were cordially received and attended to by the staff of EFCC. The required records were presented after which they left.  According to him, there was no issue of disagreement, arrest or detention.
 
Having done that, they returned to Imo State to participate in the reception of the wives of the Southern Governors. According to the Principal Secretary, he was with the Executive Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha who just returned from Abuja on Official State assignment. While he was giving him situation report on general State Matters, a call came in from one of the Northern State Governors ( name withheld ) drawing his attention to the publication made by Sahara Reporters alleging that EFCC had arrested and detained some Government Officials including the Principal Secretary, Dr Paschal Obi. The Governor asked him the source and he said that it was from Sahara Reporters.

Immediately, the Governor laughed because he understood that it was another Media Attack to hit his Government knowing full well that the source was a known Online Media outfit notorious for blackmail and attacking performance. He told the caller that he was right there with his Principal Secretary who was briefing him on the assignments he gave him. The Governor advised him to disregard such information. He told him that he had already developed thick skin for such attacks.

Dr Paschal Obi went ahead to challenge anybody to come up with the details of such arrest and who bailed him. He decried the attitude of using the Media Platform to misinform the people all in the name of playing politics of calumny.

In a similar development, the Chief of staff, Imo State Government has condemned in its entirety the act of the Media playing into the hands of mischief makers and those who want the state to fail. He called on all Imolites to remain calm that there is no tension in the State. The Chief of Staff maintained in strong terms that the bailout money was judiciously utilised in payment of workers’ salaries transparently.

He advised the general public that the Government of Imo State will never renege in delivering her mandate and election promises to the good people of the State, assuring with emphasis that no amount of blackmail will make the Rescue Government of Imo State to lose focus.
 
He appealed to opposition and those behind the globally condemned dastardly act to desist from playing politics with the bailout money.