The General Manager of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), Frank Nkem Nzenwodo, has come under intense scrutiny over allegations of corruption, including alleged diversion of official government revenue into personal bank accounts, among other offenses.
This follows a protest held on Tuesday at the ICPC premises, where placards bore inscriptions such as ‘Frank Must Go,’ ‘Yahoo Boy in OCDA,’ ‘All OCDA Revenue Pocketed,’ and ‘OCDA is Rotten,’ shortly after the submission of a formal petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) by the Niger Delta Progressive Youth Movement (NDPYM), Imo State Chapter.
The youth group led by the State Coordinator of the NDPYM, Comrade Chinedu Kenneth Nwanebu, leveled grave allegations against Mr. Nzenwodo, accusing him of running a “criminal enterprise” under the guise of public office.
According to the NDPYM, a detailed investigation — backed by whistleblower testimony and internal OCDA sources uncovered massive financial misconduct, abuse of office, and fraudulent land transactions directly linked to Mr. Nzenwodo. Key allegations include:
“Diversion of official government revenue into personal bank accounts; Forgery and backdating of government documents to authorize illegal construction projects; Targeted victimization of property developers who refused to pay bribes; Collusion with the Commissioner for Lands, Barr. Enyinna Onuegbu, to swap or forge land titles, thereby dispossessing rightful owners as well as acquisition of luxury properties in Imo and Abuja, allegedly built using embezzled public funds”.
The group also claimed that one of such property, a newly completed mansion in Imo Housing Estate, Umuguma, allegedly stands as a “monument to corruption” and an insult to struggling citizens.
In their address, Nwanebu, alleged that “Frank Nzenwodo “has turned the OCDA into a mafia-style extortion ring. He is no longer fit to serve the public, even for a day longer. This is not merely an abuse of power; it is a systemic hijack of a public institution.”
The youth movement further called on the ICPC to Immediately arrest and prosecute Mr. Nzenwodo, Freeze all personal and proxy-linked assets pending investigation; Conduct a full audit of all OCDA accounts and development permits since his appointment and the immediate dismissal from office by the Imo State Government, reiterating that, the group will continue to mobilize and occupy the OCDA in protest.
The NDPYM emphasized that this is not solely about one individual, but a broader institutional collapse. “OCDA has been turned into a personal ATM,” Nwanebu noted, warning that public institutions cannot continue to serve as tools of oppression or personal enrichment.
The group also called on citizens not to remain silent, noting that “Every naira looted is a hospital not built, a road left untarred, and a child left uneducated,” the statement read. “This is a fight for every Imolite who has suffered in silence while public servants enrich themselves with impunity.”
The protest concluded with a passionate appeal to the media and civil society to spotlight the alleged corruption, insisting that “if justice is denied, resistance becomes duty.
