Irona Shocker: How Hope Uzodinma Embezzled N100m Oguta Constituency Re-run Fund

All na 419 tory. Imo state needs a responsible indegene in the mould of Peter Obi as our next governor. All these noise makers including Rochas must give way to a decent man. Enough is enough.

You people contributed money obviuosly to rig election. And a smatter thief pocketed it, na so? Ihedioha is a clannish man. He does not see beyond his Owerri zone in Imo state. If by any miracle Ihedioha becomes governor of Imo state, he can use the state govt’s money to build bridges across the skies of Owerri zone, while the rest of Imo state is overgrown with weeds. Gov. Okorocha has amply demonstrated that it is foolish people who ochestrate zoning in governorship election in Imo state. Okorocha overwhelmingly concentrated his development projects in Owerri zone, though he is from another zone. So why does Ihedioha campaign about with zoning and chatter of equity? By the way, with nearly all the state govt’s development infrastructure, including three universities in the state located only in Owerri zone, whither equity in Imo state? Until IMSU is relocated to another zone, Owerri zone needs not talk of equity in governorship elections only.

Hon Irona is talking absolute rubbish. He is a drowning man who is trying to hold unto anything including malicious allegation against the person of our performing Senator Hope Uzodinma. The truth of the matter is that no such amount of money was raised for that election. Most of the people who made pledge on that day never fulfilled their promise. Senator Hope Uzodinma handled the little money for that election in a most transperent manner. It was Senator Uzodinma who ensured that the tump printed ballot papers that okorocha and his aides wanted to send into INEC were stopped at INEC . Contrary to that, it was Hon Irona who sabotaged that election. Let him account of the security money that was given to him for the election. emaka Ihedioha only came into the state from abroad on the morning of that Election Day and he immediately wen to JAFAC house for JAFAC birthday where he was taking champaign. So was it at JAFAC house on that day that emeka ihedioha made the calls to the president as alleged by Irona? nobody called the president at all. it was Inec business. again, let it be known that Hon Eugene did not loose in that election. we all know what happened and the election remained inconclusive inspite Irona and his cohorts plans to scuttle and discredit Senator Uzodinma. Hon Irona is only trying to divert attention from his obvious poor performance at the hose of representative. By the way, was it not from Osemoter ward and Egbuoma where Irona said he would take care of that APC rigged? This is prove that Irona sabotaged the election.

Irona Shocker : Ihedioha Orders President Jonathan to withhold Oguta Election.

It is indeed civilized to concede that when you resort to attacking the messenger and not the message, you have lost the debate. However it is instructive to harken to Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828 – 1889) who posits that … “Not only must the message be correctly delivered, but the messenger himself must be such as to recommend it to acceptance.”
Taking the above prelude as boundaries, I purpose to interrogate the statement by Hon. Gerald Irona as published in 247UReports (http://247ureports.com/?p=55402), who graciously pride themselves as impartial observers.
The honourable gentleman had been quoted as stating that Sen. Hope Uzodinma embezzled N100 Million that was raised to facilitate the June 29th, 2013 Oguta State constituency re-run election.
He was quoted as saying …
“Some of you were here then. Chief Tony Chukwu brought N20 million, Arthur Eze brought N10 million, I donated N5 million and many others also made handsome donations to the course of PDP and for us to win that election. The money was handed over to the chairman of the committee in charge of prosecuting the election.

“But up till that election day, no money was seen anywhere because the people in charge refused to release it for the purpose it was meant. That was why we nearly lost hope on the election if not for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha here who put that election on hold by calling the President to ensure the result was withheld as the election was declared inconclusive”
To interrogate the above statement, would be of paramount benefit for the average electorate, because such an august gathering to entertain this confession implies that a lot is amiss in our clime.
It is even more pertinent, when it is observed that all the personalities above are all members of the ruling PDP and as such any accusation or counter accusation among their top ranking hierarchy does not bode well for the party.
Hon. Irona has curiously told the world that PDP is an entirely dishonest party that relies on the following to win elections …
i. Money … he had noted that … “But up till that election day, no money was seen anywhere because the people in charge refused to release it for the purpose it was meant. That was why we nearly lost hope on the election”
ii. Influence Peddling … he had noted that … “That was why we nearly lost hope on the election if not for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha here who put that election on hold by calling the President to ensure the result was withheld as the election was declared inconclusive”

Hon Irona is thus telling the world that Mr. President, the leader of his party, interferers with the electoral process in Nigeria. For a law maker, who has been part of the legislature over the last 12 years to make such a sweeping allegation is actually the shocker that 247UReports.com should have highlighted. The headline ought to be … Irona Shocker : President Jonathan withholds Oguta Election result.
Given his allegation that the President acted on Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha’s orders, (he had said that “ …Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha put the election on hold by calling the President”) then we will be tempted to modify the headline a bit by saying … Irona Shocker : Ihedioha Orders President Jonathan to withhold Oguta Election.
Oguta is a subset of the constituencies that comprise Imo-West Senatorial zone, which boasts of 12 LGAs. Hon Irona is thus alleging that the PDP raised a whopping N100 Million for this single constituency for a bye election. Given that the contenders in the election must have spent copious sums for the main election, it can be inferred that the cost of election must be unreasonable in Oguta.
If you profile Oguta where the total votes cast for the said election numbers less than 20,000, as a part of the Imo West Senatorial zone, then it implies that election to the Senate would cost multiple billions of naira to run. This is actually a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Imo State politics as the common man begins to wonder how such whooping amounts of money are easily discussed without corresponding value to their standard of living.
Still on the issue of the money raised, Hon. Irona is also stating that he is certain of the fact that all the sums pledged where duly collected and if he was that diligent in tracking the donations, it stands to reason that he ought to know what happened to the money so collected. I am sure that like most people, I will be disappointed if I contributed money that was diverted. Here Hon. Irona is being clever by only saying …
“But up till that election day, no money was seen anywhere because the people in charge refused to release it for the purpose it was meant”
One would have been better armed if Hon Irona had gone on to say, that all monies that were collected were duly handed over to Sen. Uzodinma, and he misappropriated it. On the contrary it is the same Hon. Irona that actually personally collected N13.5 Million on the said day.
Discerning observers would recall that it is the same Hon. Irona that had granted yet another web interview with an online based publication named Factual Reporters (http://www.factualreporters.com/index.php/news/1-news-flash/381-gmd-nnpc-offered-us-bribe-to-kill-oil-subsidy-report-hon-alphonsus ) wherein he had alleged that the GMD of NNPC offered them bribe to kill the subsidy report. He went on to insist that
“Austen Oniwon, the group managing director of the NNPC brought thousands of dollars to my house for me to stop the indictment of the NNPC but I turned him down”
Reacting to the above allegation, the then Group General Manager (Public Affairs) NNPC, Dr Livi Ajuonuma (late) said the allegation is rather far from the truth because the GMD will not belittle himself to do what will tarnish his image after serving the nation meritoriously for decades. He noted that the GMD is high on the law and is a man of integrity and probity.
“I’m surprised at this unfounded allegation and I hope the lawmaker has not failed in his memory by making such unsubstantiated allegation,” he lamented.
In the said interview, Hon. Irona had lambasted the presidency for allowing the subsidy expenditure to rise above half of Nigeria’s annual budget. He noted that the committee discovered that N2.6 trillion was spent on subsidy compared with annual budget of N2.6 trillion to import fuel under subsidy regime. He said:
“Does that show a healthy country? Is it not enough for us to weep for this country? There is no way Nigeria can spend up to N1 trillion on fuel importation as subsidy. It is very unfortunate that in Nigeria , it is only the thieves that are glorified. Somebody stole and we indicted him and he is busy casting aspersions and he is being reported”
The foregoing emphatically shows Hon. Irona has conclusively proven that the administration of President Jonathan is profligate, clueless and covers thieves since according to him, It is very unfortunate that in Nigeria , it is only the thieves that are glorified.
Recall that Hon. Irona had alluded that over N100 Million was used to canvass a bye-election. Given that the entire salary of the intending legislator over the 4 year tenor of the office is less than N30 Million. It follows that based on Hon. Ilona’s logic one can also ask … Does that show a healthy transaction? Is it not enough for us to weep for Oguta!
When The Farouk Lawan $600,000 bribery scandal broke, it was interesting to note that Hon. Alphonsus Gerald Irona was an active member of that committee. When the committee admitted to including the name of Zenon Oil in error to their list of indicted companies, It becomes instructive to muse on the coincidence and wonder whether Hon. Irona is adept at the strategy themed “Attack is the best form of defence” wherein the guilty cries wolf first.
Hon (?). Irona has thus evolved a penchant for casting aspersions at persons without substantial and empirical proof. A brand of politics that have its short term appeal but collapses over scrutiny and does not stand the stern test of time. In local climes, we have a saying that states that, “o bu ghi onye kporo polisi, na- ekpewu mgbe nile.”

Irona Shocker : Ihedioha Orders President Jonathan to withhold Oguta Election.

It is indeed civilized to concede that when you resort to attacking the messenger and not the message, you have lost the debate. However it is instructive to harken to Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828 – 1889) who posits that … “Not only must the message be correctly delivered, but the messenger himself must be such as to recommend it to acceptance.”
Taking the above prelude as boundaries, I purpose to interrogate the statement by Hon. Gerald Irona, member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Ohaji/Egbema-Oguta-Oru West Federal Constituency, as published in 247UReports (http://247ureports.com/?p=55402), an online news blog that graciously pride themselves as impartial observers.
The honourable gentleman had been quoted as stating that Sen. Hope Uzodinma embezzled N100 Million that was raised to facilitate the June 29th, 2013 Oguta State constituency re-run election.
He was quoted as saying
“… Some of you were here then. Chief Tony Chukwu brought N20 million, Arthur Eze brought N10 million, I donated N5 million and many others also made handsome donations to the course of PDP and for us to win that election. The money was handed over to the chairman of the committee in charge of prosecuting the election.

“But up till that election day, no money was seen anywhere because the people in charge refused to release it for the purpose it was meant. That was why we nearly lost hope on the election if not for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha here who put that election on hold by calling the President to ensure the result was withheld as the election was declared inconclusive”
To interrogate the above statement, would be of paramount benefit for the average electorate, because a confession of such magnitude in such an august gathering requires and elicits serious consideration. The above statement taken on face value, implies that a lot is amiss in our clime.
It is even more pertinent, when it is observed that all the personalities above are all members of the ruling PDP and as such any accusation or counter accusation among their top ranking members and elected public office holders does not bode well for the party.
Hon. Irona has curiously told the world that PDP is an entirely dishonest party that relies on the following to win elections …
i. Money … he had noted that … “But up till that election day, no money was seen anywhere because the people in charge refused to release it for the purpose it was meant. That was why we nearly lost hope on the election”
ii. Influence Peddling … he had noted that … “That was why we nearly lost hope on the election if not for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha here who put that election on hold by calling the President to ensure the result was withheld as the election was declared inconclusive”.

Indeed probing his statement further, indicates that the opposition actually prepared better for the election and indeed won the said election. Hon Irona is thus telling the world that Mr. President, the leader of his party, interferers with the electoral process in Nigeria. For a lawmaker, who has been part of the legislature over the last 12 years to make such a sweeping allegation is actually the shocker that 247UReports.com should have highlighted. The headline ought to be … Irona Shocker : President Jonathan withholds Oguta Election result.
Given his allegation that the President acted on Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha’s orders, (he had said that “ …Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha put the election on hold by calling the President”) then we will be tempted to modify the headline a bit by saying … Irona Shocker : Ihedioha Orders President Jonathan to withhold Oguta Election.
Oguta is a subset of the constituencies that comprise Imo-West Senatorial zone, which boasts of 12 LGAs. Hon Irona is thus alleging that the PDP raised a whopping N100 Million for this single constituency for a bye election. Given that the contenders in the election must have spent copious sums for the main election, it can be inferred that the cost of election must be unreasonable in Oguta.
If you profile Oguta where the total votes cast for the said election numbers less than 20,000, as a part of the Imo West Senatorial zone, then it implies that election to the Senate would cost multiple billions of naira to run. This is actually a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Imo State politics as the common man begins to wonder how such whooping amounts of money are easily discussed without corresponding value to their standard of living.
Still on the issue of the money raised, Hon. Irona is also stating that he is certain of the fact that all the sums pledged where duly collected and if he was that diligent in tracking the donations, it stands to reason that he ought to know what happened to the money so collected. I am sure that like most people, I will be disappointed if I contributed money that was diverted. Here Hon. Irona is being clever by only saying …
“But up till that election day, no money was seen anywhere because the people in charge refused to release it for the purpose it was meant”
One would have been better armed if Hon Irona had gone on to say, that all monies that were collected were duly handed over to Sen. Uzodinma, and he misappropriated it. On the contrary, there is ample and incontrovertible evidence that it is the same Hon. Irona that personally collected N13.5 Million on the said day, being the actual sum collected at the fund raising.
Discerning observers would recall that this same Hon. Irona had granted yet another web interview with another online based publication named Factual Reporters (http://www.factualreporters.com/index.php/news/1-news-flash/381-gmd-nnpc-offered-us-bribe-to-kill-oil-subsidy-report-hon-alphonsus ) wherein he had alleged that the GMD of NNPC offered them bribe to kill the subsidy report. He went on to insist that
“Austen Oniwon, the group managing director of the NNPC brought thousands of dollars to my house for me to stop the indictment of the NNPC but I turned him down”
Reacting to the above allegation, the then Group General Manager (Public Affairs) NNPC, Dr Livi Ajuonuma (late) said the allegation is rather far from the truth because the GMD will not belittle himself to do what will tarnish his image after serving the nation meritoriously for decades. He noted that the GMD is high on the law and is a man of integrity and probity.
“I’m surprised at this unfounded allegation and I hope the lawmaker has not failed in his memory by making such unsubstantiated allegation,” he lamented.
In the said interview, Hon. Irona had lambasted the presidency for allowing the subsidy expenditure to rise above half of Nigeria’s annual budget. He noted that the committee discovered that N2.6 trillion was spent on subsidy compared with annual budget of N2.6 trillion to import fuel under subsidy regime. He said:
“Does that show a healthy country? Is it not enough for us to weep for this country? There is no way Nigeria can spend up to N1 trillion on fuel importation as subsidy. It is very unfortunate that in Nigeria, it is only the thieves that are glorified. Somebody stole and we indicted him and he is busy casting aspersions and he is being reported”
The foregoing emphatically shows that Hon. Irona has conclusively proven that the administration of President Jonathan is profligate, clueless and covers thieves since according to him, It is very unfortunate that in Nigeria , it is only the thieves that are glorified.
Recall that Hon. Irona had alluded that over N100 Million was used to canvass a bye-election. Given that the entire salary of the intending legislator over the 4 year tenor of the office is less than N30 Million. It follows that based on Hon. Ilona’s logic one can also ask … Does that show a healthy transaction? Is it not enough for us to weep for Oguta!
When The Farouk Lawan $600,000 bribery scandal broke, it was interesting to note that Hon. Alphonsus Gerald Irona was an active member of that committee. The committee had admitted to Nigerians that they included the name of Zenon Oil (whose Chairman is a key participant in the bribing scandal) in error to their list of indicted companies, It becomes instructive to muse on the coincidence and wonder whether Hon. Irona is adept at the strategy themed “Attack is the best form of defence” wherein the guilty cries wolf first.
Hon(?). Irona has thus evolved a penchant for casting aspersions at persons without substantial and empirical proof. A brand of politics that have its short term appeal but collapses over scrutiny and does not stand the stern test of time. In local climes, we have a saying that states that, “o bu ghi onye kporo polisi, na- ekpewu mgbe nile.”