The Sole Administrator of Aboh Mbaise LGA, of Imo State, Barr. Mrs. Ogechi Njoku-Ehirim, has been accused of being behind the recent sudden resignations of three Youth Advocates’ Leaders, a soft power initiative of the Imo State Ministry of Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs (MOHSAVA).
Some Government Liaison Officers (GLOs) in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area made the allegation, accusing Njoku-Ehirim of inducing them to resign from their appointments with promises of monetary and material gifts.
The Youth Advocates’ Leaders program is a budding program set up by Commissioner Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, to groom a cadre of young men as leaders in the peace-making and conflict resolution aspects of the security mandates of the ministry. Following a recent evaluation of the pilot testing of the Imo Youth Advocates program in Aboh Mbaise LGA, the ministry had announced plans to expand the program state-wide to cover all the political Wards in Imo State.
However, if the recent resignations of some of the youth advocates had not been quickly and effectively addressed with their prompt replacements, the impact could have shaken the faith which many, especially the youths, have in the programme.
When contacted, the Commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, Dr. Ugorji, confirmed that the three former Youth Advocate Leaders in the Nguru Bloc, where the SOLAD hails from, namely (Kelechi Osuji, Macdonald Unamba, and Chima Davidson Ariguzo) resigned within minutes of each other, and that they were promptly replaced with nominees given to him by APC leaders in the bloc. “I thank Hon. Mrs. Pat Ekeji, Chief Christugunus Okoro, Chief Okechukwu Azu, and Rt. Honourable Godfrey Dikeocha for nominating the replacements,” the Commissioner said.
The other eight Youth Advocates Leaders from Aboh Mbaise, who claimed to have rejected the SOLAD’s attempt at turning them against the security initiative, narrated how they were contacted by the SOLAD’s proxies (Kelechi Osuji, Chima Ariguzo, and Justin Onyenegecha). The Youth Advocates, who included Odinakachi Nwarukwe, Chima Nwachukwu, Osinachi Johnpaul Ukafor, Onyekachi Emeruwa, and Ephraim Anokwuru, all confirmed to news media that they were contacted with the same inducement if they should resign.
One of the Youth Advocates Leaders, Ugochukwu Umunakwe from the Amuzu Ward, was reported to have revealed at a meeting of the Youth Advocates with the Commissioner on July 10, 2023, that Mrs. Njoku-Ehirim called him directly and requested him to resign from the Ministry of Homeland Security’s program.
According to him, he turned her offers down and wondered why a government appointee (the SOLAD) would encourage another appointee to leave a program of the same state government in which she serves.
A couple of the Youth Advocate Leaders were of the opinion that the SOLAD was not happy that the Commissioner, Dr. Ugorji, had called on her to account for Campaign Funds that went into her private bank account.
Meanwhile, the SOLAD (Ogechi Njoku-Ehirim) has denied the allegation, saying that the Youth Advocates Leaders from her Nguru community resigned of their own will.
“I didn’t instigate anybody. These are GLOs. Some of them work with me as SAs,” she said.
“Allegations that I bribed Youth Advocate Leaders with forty thousand naira, a phone and the promise of councillorship positions are lies from the pit of hell,” Njoku-Ehirim stated.
Reacting to the development, Mr. Odinakachi Nwarukwe, head of the GLOs in Aboh Mbaise, revealed that SOLAD Njoku-Ehirim, placed GLOs doubling as her SAs on “probation” and gave them an ultimatum to resign from MOHSAVA.
According to him, the whole fracas erupted because those of them who worked for APC in the last General Election demanded for the accounting of the funds dispensed, and that Commissioner Ugorji supported their demand for transparency and accountability.
“The mama’s boys of Madam SOLAD have approached so many people in the Youth Advocates Leaders Forum for us to resign but we have said no, because whatever battle they have with the Commissioner doesn’t concern the good work we are doing for the government and people of Imo State,” Nwarukwe said.
“At one of the meetings we held as GLOs, we pointed out that it was not right for the three signatories to the Campaign Council Bank Account; (the Chairman of the Council Iheukwumere Alaribe, the APC Chairman Tony Awusaku, and the SOLAD, Ogechi Njoku-Ehirim) to be disbursing the money amongst themselves only; that they should have let the Campaign Council members know what they were doing. All those who truly worked for the Party with their own resources, hoping to be refunded, were not refunded, and they are grumbling bitterly,” Nwarukwe said.
Nwarukwe went on to add that “They refused to bring out the money for the election. We are worried that without this accounting, people will collect money and not do the job in the Nov 11th election, due to the bad precedence of not accounting for the last Campaign Funds.
“We used our personal resources to work, knowing that the money was not spent, hoping for a proper account, and they are playing politics with it. Dr. Ugorji supported our call for accountability and they brought war to him.
“But they refused to account, claiming that they are only accountable to the Governor. This was where the problem started. The SOLAD wanted to embarrass Dr. Ugorji by these resignations for daring to mention her name in the call for accountability and transparency,” Nwarukwe stated, adding that the Nguru boys were happy with calling on Alaribe (from Oke Clan) to account, but they were not willing to call on the SOLAD to also account, because she is their “madam” from their Nguru Clan.
Corroborating the claims, another GLO, Osinachi John Paul Ukafor, said: “I was approached to resign by my own brother, who is in the cartel of the SOLAD. He did make those promises of rewards if I resign but I told him that I can’t accept such. I don’t know whatever battle they have with the Commissioner but it doesn’t affect me and my duty as the Youth Advocates Leader in my Ward.”
“We are helping the 3R Government at the grassroots level, in areas of security, youth organization and planning of seminars on productive youth orientation. I am in full control of my area. The Commissioner is a good man, an innovative man, a hardworking appointee. In an environment where there are very few principled actors, some people are intimidated by his profile and principles,” he stated.
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