Motorists who ply the ever busy Aba- Owerri road in Aba, the commercial capital of Abia state had a hectic time yesterday as policemen blocked the entrance gates of the Abia State Polytechnic where a birthday reception in honour of the Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha was scheduled to hold.
When our correspondent visited the area, one lane of the dual carriage way between PZ and Brass Junctions was blocked with an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and 5 Police patrol vehicles as well as the two entrance gates of the institution. It led to a traffic gridlock as motorists and pedestrians lamented the situation. It was also discovered that chairs and canopies already set in place at the pavilion for the event were scattered and upturned.
The event which was to be held under the umbrella of Rescue Missionaries comprising ministers of God from South East and South South zones of Nigeria was scheduled to mark Okorocha’s 51st birthday anniversary.
The event which was scheduled to hold at the Abia state polytechnic pavilion was said to have been cancelled at the last minute by the Abia State government who alleged that the reception is a decoy to launch Okorocha’s Rescue Mission programme and the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Abia state.
Reacting to the development, Okorocha’s deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Chinedu Offor debunked reports that the event was a political one.
“The Rescue Missionaries had a convention in Aba and decided to use the occasion to honour His Excellency on his birthday. They are a group of missionaries from the South East and South South zones. They got police permit, paid for the venue and had their receipt. His Excellency was getting ready to go and honour their call when we heard that the powers that be has ordered the event cancelled. Somebody is to trying to be funny by cancelling the event. They should be careful when they are dealing with God. It had nothing to do with APC. I wondered why political meaning is being read to a purely religious event. Did you see the APC flag? Did you hear the presence of any APC governor? If the APC wanted to do a rally, it would have been an open affair. There is no politics in the event and nobody has told us why it was cancelled.”
Dismissing Offor’s claims as laughable, chief press secretary to Abia state governor, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue alleged that Okorocha planned to use the occasion to launch his pet project called Imo Rescue mission without permission from the school authorities.
Emezue wondered why Imo state government would want to sneak into Abia to hold such a programme without observing laid down procedure.
He warned Okorocha to restrict his Rescue Mission programme activities to Imo state, stressing that Gov. Theodore Orji would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the hard earned security in Abia state is not compromised from any quarter.
