The outgoing Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has pleaded with the State’s governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha, to keep the free education policy he (Okorocha) initiated in the State alive when he takes over governance.
Okorocha made the plea when the new manager of Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Mrs. Rejoice Ndudinachi paid him a courtesy call at the Government House at the weekend.
He said, “My appeal has remained that there are certain things I would want to remain continued. One of them is the free education.
“I want to appeal to the in-coming government in the name of God not to stop free education in this land. Free education represents our indirect empowerment to the widows and the poor in the society.
“Free education helps children who cannot afford School fees. Free education has helped wipe away the tears of suffering widows.
“Free education must never be allowed to stop in this land and if that stops, criminal activities will come back again in geometrical progression and crime rate will rise and that should not be good for the State.
“If they do not know how to do it, I will offer my services free of charge to be sure that free education continues in Imo State. And for the peace we are enjoying now to continue, the youths must continue to be made useful.
“Another appeal is that all these over 1000 projects I have given to the people of Imo State, the highest in the history of this State, those things must be kept alive and made to continue. When I see these, I would be the happiest former governor of Imo State.
“You can see that since we assumed office in 2011, the story of Imo Airport has changed. We used to have one flight per day when I came in but today, the passenger’s in-flow and out-flow in Owerri is probably the highest in the South-East. And this is because of the developmental strides we have introduced in Imo State.
“I intend to write a book one day to explain to the people of Nigeria and Imo State in particular the vision with which I governed this State. If you should notice, I have opened up Owerri. Owerri is so opened up with road networks everywhere. There are more developments now in Owerri than it has never been. Security is better. So when I said Imo must be better, I meant my word abinitio. In security, Imo is better than it has ever been. The issue of kidnapping is gone.
“In terms of infrastructural development, Imo is better. In terms of workers welfare, Imo is better. In terms of health, Imo is better. In terms of education, Imo is better. So Imo is better in all wings.
“The secret to all these is that we thought outside the box and being able to do things different from the conventional ways of doing things. This is the result of what you are seeing. We were never hard on the people. Infact, Imo State is the place you could come and not pay tax before getting your building on.
“So, I’m leaving a better Imo than I met it. The idea of the Imo International Airport was to connect Imo State to the rest of the world. When the business starts, it would be perhaps one of the greatest legacy Rescue Mission has left for generations yet unborn.”