Imo Government says it “has no hand” in Demolition of Akachi Monument

The newly inaugurated government of Imo State has said it has no hand in the attempted demolition of the Akachi monument built by immediate past governor, Rochas Okorocha of the APC.

Current state governor Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP, through his Special Adviser on Media, Steve Osuji, said: “The governor or the state government has no hand in it.”

“The Imo State Government has no hand in the demolition of the Akachi monument. This is the least of the worries of an administration that just came to power 24 hours ago. The outgone governor never handed over to us. I tell you that we have no hand in what is happening to the Akachi monument,” Osuji said according to Punch.

Punch reports that some workers with earth-moving equipment on Thursday, arrived at the site of the monument, located off the Owerri-Aba Road in Owerri, the state capital, and had begun demolishing before some soldiers numbering over 25 chased them away.

The report added that one of the operators of the equipment, who was chased out by the soldiers, told journalists that him and his colleagues were sent by the state government.

Watch the demolition below:

Reacting to the incident, media aide to Okorocha, Sam Onwuemeodo, said:

We want to use this opportunity to inform the general public that 24 hours after inauguration, the new PDP government in the state carried out its first assignment on Thursday, May 30, 2019, by demolishing the Akachi (the symbolic hand of God) erected by the former governor. This is suspicious.

They have also changed the Imo Trade and Investment Centre to Ahiajoku. The former governor had taken certain steps to bring Imo people closer to God. We have also heard that they want to close the Government House Chapel. In all these, we only want to say, ‘Time will tell’.