The wide gulf developing between the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and the Agbaso family is entering a dangerous dimension with both camps drawing flaks and throwing jibes at each other.
Prior to the 2011 general elections in Imo state, Governor Okorocha and the Agbaso family entered into political marriage that saw the patriarch of Agbaso family, Chief Martin Agbaso surrendering his political structure and machinery in APGA to Okorocha who was of the PDP stock, for the purposes of contesting the 2011 governorship election. The pre-election deal saw a rather political neophyte and the younger Agbaso, Jude emerge Okorocha’s running mate under APGA platform.
Two years after the political romance, a development suggested that the Okorocha and the Agbasos are strange bed fellows as Jude Agbaso was kicked out of office in controversial manner via impeachment by the members of the House of Assembly who accused the then Deputy Governor of allegedly collecting N458m bribe from a contractor named Joseph Dina of JPros Construction Company. Despite Jude Agbaso’s insistence that he was not guilty as accused, the House moved ahead to sack him after observing necessary formalities for impeachment.
The Agbaso family desirous to pursueing the matter to a logical end and irked by the conspiracy of the anti-Agbaso desperadoes in government of Okorocha, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), who after several months of investigation gave clean bill and exonerated him from the fraud.
However, the EFCC report did not go down well with Okorocha government as the Governor and his media aides not only dismissed the report as skewed imagination propagated by the Agbasos but also posited that EFCC has no right to clear the former Deputy Governor since the body is not a law court empowered to clear suspects, alleging that the body has become a willing tool in the hands of politicians as its operatives are playing lip service over petitions sent to them concerning allegations of fraud leveled against former Governor Ohakim.
In response to the recent reaction of government, Martin Agbaso described Okorocha as a habitual liar and “one chance” man who rose to power through deception.
At a press conference organized in Lagos, Agbaso revealed that he had nursed a different impression about Okorocha, a supposed philanthropist and was inclined to working with him only to discover afterwards that he was a “one chance” who rode on his back to become governor.
According to Agbaso, the bone of contention was their one term agreement with Okorocha where he will do one tenure and handover to him. Adding that the vilification of his younger brother was to destroy the integrity of the Agbasos before the public.
Agbaso vowed that the battle is far from being over as there are strategic measures to rewrite the wrongs inflicted on the family.
Apart from deserving an unreserved apology from Okorocha for dragging the family name through the mud, Agbaso assured newsmen that substantial efforts have been instituted to ensure Jude, regains his position as duly elected Deputy Governor of Imo State.
Trumpeta can reveal that court cases have been instituted at various courts for the purposes of restoring the position of the former Deputy Governor.
