The embarrassment faced by the governor of Abia State, Governor Theodore A. Orji following the nationally televised booing by Aba youths at the Aba Stadium during the burial festivities of the late Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu may have not been settled. This is as information available to 247ureports.com through sources within the governor’s cabinet members indicate that the Governor has resolved to sack the entire cabinet members in the coming weeks. The source indicates that the Governor’s son has made the decision to carry on with the sack.
The Governor of Abia State, Mr. Orji was booed at the Enyimba Township Stadium in Aba as the casket containing the corpse of Ikemba Nnewi was brought to the city for the people of the state to pay their last respect to the deceased. The governor was surprised when a group of youths booed him among his fellow governors of Anambra and Imo states. He was embarrassed.
The embarrassment led him to suspend 17 transition chairmen, 5 commissioners [Mr. Emma Nwabuko, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Hon. Akujuobi Nkoro, Petroleum; Mrs. Ugoeze Joy Alozie, Women Affairs; Hon. Ike Onyeweaku, Agriculture and Hon. Don Ubani, Information and Strategy] and 3 other top aides[Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mazi Donatus Okorie; Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief Charles Ogbonna and the Chief Security Officer at the Government House, Chief Awah Agu].
According the source within Gov Orji’s cabinet, the governor believed that the suspended members of his cabinet along with the 17 transition local government chairman – collected huge sums of money from the State Government of Abia State for the mobilization of “rented crowds” for the event – but failed to deliver. Instead, the opposition crowd was rented to fill the empty seats. The other seats were empty because the crowd was scanty. The 17 Chairman had been given the money to bring bus-loads of “rented crowds” that will be friendly to the governor but they failed to do so, stated the source.
Independent inquiry by 247ureports.com reveals that the influential son of the Abia State governor may have a hidden but strong influence towards the suspension of the LGA chairmen and top aides. It is gathered that the son had demanded from the father for the entire cabinet to be sacked/dissolved immediately following the embarrassing ordeal. According to the son, the booing incident was the result of infiltration of the cabinet by the opposition party. He suspected the All Progressive Grand Alliance [APGA] as having reached out to the officials within the Orji’s administration.
It is uncertain the validity of the claim but a source close to the governor’s son admitted that the Governor and his son are aware that the Orji administration has unduely neglected Aba and its environs – and that the people [youths] of Aba may have taken the opportunity to air their grievances on that day. The source also revealed that the Governor has begun to regret his knee-jerk reaction to suspend a large chunk of his cabinet immediately following the embarrassing saga. He said that it was through his announcement of the suspension that the wider media became aware of the booing incident. The source stated that the governor wished he had stayed mute on the matter – until a later date when he could dissolve his cabinet without the tie to the embarrassing ordeal.
However the governor of Abia State and his son has decided to revisit the suspension of the cabinet members. As gathered, the Governor has concluded to dissolve his cabinet in the coming weeks to appoint new and younger members. Our source indicates that the tension at the Abia Government house has become high. Most aides believe that sack will come by the last week of March 2012.
