Imo State Commissioner for
Information And Strategy, Mr. Chinedu
Offor, Friday took his erstwhile counterpart, Dr. Kelechi Okpaleke, to the
cleaners describing him as feeble minded and a man of small mind whose claim of
illegal possession of Government documents
will land him in jail.
Offor revealed that he is
aware that Okpaleke and his co travellers are forging documents to blackmail
his humbleself and other government officials, stating that he (Okpaleke)
should be aware of the illegality of his action and the penalty that awaits him
for doing such.
He stated that the Ex
Commissioner should know the consequences of possessing Government documents
while out of office, pointing out that he (Okpaleke) has indicted himself
before the law by making such a pronouncement.
Speaking to journalists in
his office in Owerri, Offor stated that Okpaleke should bury his head in shame,
considering the depth of financial mismanagement he perpetrated at the
Information and Strategy Ministry when he was the Commissioner. He described
the Ex Commissioner as the most unproductive in the Ikedi Ohakim Administration
whose bully mentality affected the psyche of workers of the Ministry.
He revealed that records
available to him showed that he (Okpaleke) mismanaged over N50 million naira
during the few months he was Commissioner of Information and Strategy, adding
that Okpaleke placed the Imo Broadcasting Corporation, the Imo Newspapers in a
comatose state because of his incompetence and lack of confidence, describing
him as the as one who lacks the ability to perform.
Offor stated that he will
cease join issues with the Ex Commissioner because he has been a failure both
at the State and Local Government levels.
According to him, Okpaleke
failed to use his position as a Commissioner in Ohakim’s Administration to
effect positive development in his Onuimo LGA, stating that because of the poor
condition of development in Onuimo LGA, Governor Rochas Okorocha had to list
Onuimo as the one of the most backward Local Governments that requires urgent
and immediate attention.
Offor said ‘What did he do
for his people. Nothing. But look at what is going on in Onuimo LGA now. Today under the rescue mission which I am part
of, look at the total transformation taking place in Onuimo. New Roads are
being constructed. At a point, Onuimo traditional
rulers came to thank me and the Governor for what is taking place in Onuimo.
They have disassociated themselves from what Okpaleke is doing’
Offor noted there is no
basis for comparison between him and Okpaleke, stating that while he (Offor)
has attained enviable heights in the journalism profession having proved his
mettle in reputable national and international organizations such as the
Guardian and Champion Newspapers, and at the Voice of America (VOA) and lately,
Special Adviser (Media) to Imo State Governor, Okpaleke is yet to become a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in his legal profession.
He added that Okpaleke is
politically insecure and because of this fact, he is scared of his (Offor)
towering career and profile, adding that this is why the Ex Commissioner has
resorted to acts of blackmail and character assassination against him.
He denied Okpaleke’s claims
that he (Offor) had approached him (Okpaleke) to destroy Governor Rochas
Okorocha before the elections, describing it as the thinking of a man of small
mind who is jobless and desperate to pull him down through cheap blackmail.
In his reply to Offor’s tirades,
Dr. Kelechi Okpalaeke, said Offor is a blackmailer who approached him to put up
a documentary to expose Owelle Rochas Okorocha, then Governorship candidate of
the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He claimed that Offor had requested
for N18 million naira to do the hatchet job.
He also denied Offor’s
claims that he embezzled over N50 Million naira when he (Okpalaeke) was
Information and Strategy Ministry, saying at no time did he handle any of the
Ministry’s project stating that his job as Chief Information manager was to
handle the image of the State Government.
He emphasized that Offor is
incompetent as he has failed to effectively manage the programmes and policies
of the Okorocha Administration. He cited
the Free Education Programme which has been erroneously misinterpreted by the
public as a result of the ineffectiveness of Offor who failed to explain to Imo
people the benefits of the programme.
Okpalaeke described Offor as
a small fly, seeking for relevance, adding that in Onuimo LGA, the State
Government which he (Offor) serves has failed to build roads in the area. He
said despite the huge sum of money allegedly invested by Okorocha’s Government
in rehabilitation of roads, no kilometre of road has been tarred in the LGA.
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