Member, representing Okigwe South federal constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chike Okafor has appealed to Governor Emeka Ihedioha to face the challenging issues of governance and leave his successor, Senator Rochas Okorocha alone.
He said that the state does not need any distraction, stressing that the governor needed to get more focused.
Okafor who fielded questions from Journalists after his swearing in as the member of the House at Tuesday plenary also said that Okorocha’s probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC shouldn’t be seen as a witch-hunt.
He said that there will be light at the end of the tunnel for Okorocha. It will be recalled that Okafor who was aspirant of the speakership of the House was sacked by the Elections Tribunal in Imo State on the verge of the inauguration of the 9th Assembly.
He later won his case at the Court of Appeal.
He said: “I want settle down fully in the National Assembly. I don’t want to dabble into local politics back home for now. But I will say without any fear of contradiction that I wish the governor in my state settles down and faces the issues of governance in my State and leave out a man he took over from. This is my position. In summary, I wish that His Excellency, Governor Emeka Ihedioha will face the challenging issues in the State and leave Senator Okorocha alone.
On Okorocha/EFCC
“It is not a new thing in our democracy that public officers having served as Governor and serving as a senator will have couple of invitations from the anti-graft agencies. They are doing their job but at the end of the day, we know, it is not a witch-hunt, I want to believe. It will pan out fine. It is not the first time it is happening in our democracy and it won’t be the last time. Some of us have also face inquisition and enquiry by those anti-graft agencies. So, Distinguished Senator Rochas Okorocha is having his turn now. It won’t his turn next. It will be some other person’s turn.”
The federal also thanked his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, the leadership of the House and the judiciary for restoring his mandate.
He reassured his constituents of quality representation.
“I am happy. It is an exciting moment for me and I really thank God. I also want to thank my party, APC’s leadership and members of the National Working Committee, NWC, who stood by me at this trying moment. You know what it means to win elections, get declared by INEC, collected certificate of return, participated in the inaugural induction ceremony of members and was looking forward to the commencement of the 9th Assembly, and then from no where, issues that had nothing to with me and my party came up.
“I thank God for the judiciary. Of course, we had to approach the court of appeal. Today, here we are. The rest they say is history. I thank the judiciary for remaining what they ought to be, the hope of Nigerians. I thank them for redressing the injustice.
“For my constituency, I told them I am going to be a strong voice and that was the major reason they voted for me overwhelmingly to come to 9th Assembly. To my constituents, I will say that the strong voice is back. And I will continue to speaker for Okigwe South federal constituency of Imo State”, he said.
Vanguard
