Concern
has been expressed which country did Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha go for
his vacation.
A
press statement signed by the Governor's Special Adviser (Media), Sam Onwuemedo said
the governor proceeded on vacation by jetting out of the country through Abuja.
He was silent which country the governor traveled to.
Since
then, there have been speculations and conjectures in the public domain on the
issue. Some said he went to Dubai, while others contend that he traveled to
Vietnam for his vacation.
Their curiosity seems not be out of place
considering the fact the Okorocha is a public office holder who is accountable
to the people having gotten their mandate through the ballot box to govern the State.
All
over the world, public office holders are bound to tell those they govern where
they spend their vacation or where, when and why they intend to travel abroad
for official visits. It should not be
shrouded in secrecy because the citizens are bound to know.
For
instance, all official visits of President Muhammadu Buhari are announced to
Nigerians by his media aides. All official trips embarked on by public
officials such as ministers and governors are also made public knowledge. Therefore, the people of Imo State are bound
to know where their governor went on rest leave.
At
a time the economy of the State is in bad shape, workers are groaning over unpaid salaries, businesses
are crumbling and cash squeeze remains prevalent in Imo State, luxuries such as
vacations abroad by the State Governor or any public official which are known
to be expensive should be temporarily suspended.
While
we do not in any way condemn Governor Okorocha’s prerogative to go on vacation,
it is also important to point out that such vacation abroad at this time is unnecessary
considering the prevailing economic situation in the State.
At
a time Government is complaining over low revenue, all trips abroad by
officials of the State government including the governor should be geared
towards attracting economic gains to Imo State.
The
State government cannot be sacking workers under the guise of poor revenue only
for the State Governor to embark on vacation abroad that has no duration with
tax payer’s money.
The
trip to Turkey where more than 100 government officials including Governor
Okorocha participated is yet to yield meaningful results. Aside the exploratory visit of
some Turkish investors to the State to assess the viability of investing in the
health sector or not, Imolites are yet
to see any significant progress in the area of industrialization which the
State government said was the reason for the Turkey trip.
Also at a time there is economic crunch in the
country, we not just call on the Imo State governor but other public office
holders to spend their vacations in the country to save the nation the much
needed and scarce foreign currency.
There
are many places in Nigeria where those in positions of authority can spend
their vacation. There are also many tourist areas in the country which can
provide all the comfort for our public office holders to relax and cool off
from the stress of governance.
The
United States president spends his vacation at Camp David, a resort built
specifically for the vacation of the President. Almost all public officials in
the United States government spend their vacation in Miami, Florida, a
city in the U.S known to have beautiful resorts for a nice vacation.
This Online
Newspaper finds it unacceptable for Governor Okorocha to travel to a foreign
land for vacation at a time the people of Imo State are told to tighten their
belts and await economic hardship.
As
number one citizen of the State, he should have chosen to spend his
vacation in the country in order to save for money for Imo State which could
have been used to pay workers salaries and attend to pressing financial issues
at home.
We
expected him to make another sacrifice for the State which he did when he
assumed office as governor in 2011 by forfeiting his security vote to fund the
free education programme.
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