KARMA IS RIGHTEOUS

By Collins Ughalaa…

There is a popular saying among the Igbo people, that anyone who sees a hen scattering excreta with its toes and eating same, he should pursue it away because no one knows who would eat the toes and the peek.

Since Thursday, March 14, when the Governor-Elect, His Excellency Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha, made his first press conference, all hell has been let loose, with everyone that knows anything about the law and governance quarreling over the report in the media that the Governor-Elect had asked the financial institutions in the state to stop further dealings with the outgoing government. While freezing the account of the state seems to be on the lips of many people due to what they call retributive justice and the tendency of the government to indulge in last-minute smart dealings, the question of whether Ihedioha has the power under the laws of the country to do so has also been on the lips of many.

For instance, legal practitioner, Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, in a statement on Friday said that as Governor-Elect, Ihedioha could not be giving instructions to financial institutions in the state. He said, “Let’s quit party politics and do the right thing. Hon. Ihedioha, being a Governor-Elect, cannot in law be doling out directives to banks and giving marching orders against a sitting government. Hon Ihedioha should wait till he has been sworn in. As it is now, he can only monitor events from the sidelines till May 29.”

Governor Okorocha has also thrown his hat in the ring of the debate of the propriety or otherwise of the said order, saying that Ihedioha “does not have the right or locus yet, to harass or give directives to the financial institutions in the state over their dealings with the state government”. The Governor, responding through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, on Friday, described the purported instruction from Ihedioha to the commercial banks as “a sign of ugly things to come”.

While accusing Iherdioha of eyeing government treasury, the Governor called on the commercial banks to ignore the said instruction. “There is a government in place and until May 29, 2019, that government should continue to work in the interest of the state and her people and also continue to carry out programmes and policies for the same purpose, until the end of its approved life span. To begin to harass or give directives to financial institutions in the state is an act of hostility and he should know that.

“The financial institutions in the state should disregard such directive and continue to do the right thing and take the right action since the best he can do is to confront the outgoing government when he takes over on any financial transaction he has reservations at”.

A careful look at what the Governor said, that commercial banks should continue to do the right things, would show that what Ihedioha said was not different or improper. The Governor also said the truth that Ihedioha could only act when he takes over. I think Ihedioha implied that much when he said that the banks would be engaging in illegal transactions at their own peril (when he takes over). But while the interrogation of the legality of Ihedioha’s purported directive may continue, we must also not lose sight of the fact that he who comes to equity must do so with clean hands.

Nevertheless, we cannot blink in the dark. There is the need to know whether Ihedioha instructed the financial institutions in the state not to transact with the state government any more or not. This may guide our responses and at same time reduce the tension that is building up again.

From what is in the public domain, it is obvious that what the Governor-Elect said has been misinterpreted, misreported and thus misunderstood. The extant of what Ihedioha said at the press conference does not in any way suggest asking financial institutions not to transact with the government further. I therefore wonder why the government is chasing after the wind by its quick response to what obviously does not exist.

For emphasis, this is what the Governor-Elect said: “Finally, may I also use this opportunity to warn all those who may be tempted to do illegal last-minute transaction with the outgoing government, particularly financial institutions, which may result in further burdening the state with unsustainable liabilities that they will be doing so at their own peril”.

The Governor-Elect means that the financial institutions in the state are free to transact with the outgoing government, but any of such transactions that is illegal will be at their own risk. Put differently, he raised the red flag, that his government will not honour any illegal transactions with the outgoing government.

For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had few years ago raised the red flag that Imo State had reached the ceiling of its commercial borrowing. If a commercial bank after knowing this fact goes ahead to lend money to the Okorocha’s administration, is that not illegal transaction? Would that bank not be doing so at its own peril?

With this in mind, one may want to ask why the state government is afraid, and why they were responding to what does not exist. The answer is not far-fetched, though. A popular saying amongst Christians says that a sinner runs away even when no one is chasing after him. The outgoing government is obviously afraid that it could be served in its own cup.

If you recall, few days after he was announced winner of the governorship election in 2011, Okorocha set up the Office of the Governor-Elect from which he sent a letter to commercial banks in the state asking them to stop further transactions with the then outgoing Ohakim government.

Reporting under the heading, “Okorocha freezes Imo accounts” Daily Sun of Friday, May 13, 2011, said that “the campaign office of the state Governor-Elect, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has frozen all the state government accounts with banks in the state”.

The newspaper added that their “Investigations reveal that Chief Okorocha’s Chief of Staff, Prince Eze Madumere, wrote a letter to all the banks dealing with the state government placing embargo on the accounts until the governor-elect is sworn in on May 29, 2011.

“Investigations further reveal that this move, which many analysts have described as an illegality is wrecking havoc in the state especially as civil servants in the state are yet to receive their April salaries. Sources close to some of the banks in Owerri reveal that cheques issued by the state government for the payment of workers salaries were dishonoured by the banks”.

Despite the fact that Okorocha’s action in 2011 was an illegality, he did not listen to anyone who tried to call him to order. Not even the advice from the Attorney General of the Federation could persuade him to change his mind. He was not perturbed either with the fact that the workers and pensioners suffered the consequences of his illegal action. Nothing touched his heart. No one could call him to order.

I recall interviewing the Director General of Okorocha’s campaign organization, Prof A.G. Anwuka, at the Rochas Foundation building, opposite Rockview Hotel, few days after the report emerged. I had asked him why the Governor-Elect would do that. I reminded him that none of the appointees of the Governor-Elect were signatories to the said government accounts and that the law did not allow such a move that had the potentials of grounding the state or indeed jeopardizing his own swearing in ceremonies.

He answered that the Governor-Elect was doing so to stop the outgoing government from last-minute looting. He did not comment on the implications of the action on the civil servants and pensioners, but he spoke on the swearing in ceremony, saying that the Governor-Elect, Okorocha, did not need government money for the swearing in ceremony. He said that as a matter of fact Okorocha had requested the government to allow him fund the swearing in ceremony.

A lot has changed since 2011, much with the mess Imo State has become in recent time. In the bid, therefore, to recover our state, and considering the humongous debt profile of the state, the new government must look at the processes that led to most transactions. If anyone did not follow due process, the financial institution involved should be made to know that they entered into the transaction at their own peril. A responsible government should not honour illegal transactions, and if the financial institutions are cajoled into any form of illegal transactions, it should be the duty of the government to stand firm and distance itself from the illegality.

From what we know of the outgoing government, there is need to protect the remaining resources of the state from being frittered away in the name of government transactions. A state that is burdened on all fronts should rather be meticulous in its transactions and be able to set its priorities aright too. Allowing the outgoing government to even spend money on frivolities such as roofing the streets is great disservice by the incoming government.

This is more so considering that the Accountant General of the state was recently arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the allegation that he withdrew N17bn from government account few days to the governorship election.

It is therefore proper that the incoming government makes its position known on “illegal transaction” with the outgoing government, so that the financial institutions will be well guided. Imo needs both a firm and compassionate leader.

For the outgoing government that is shouting hoarse, it has no justification, no moral pedestal to raise any alarm, because “For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return”.

 

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