The Peoples Democratic Party in Imo
State has faulted the inauguration of Imo Air, an aircraft recently
purchased by the Governor Rochas Okorocha-led state government.
The PDP, in a statement by its state
secretary, Ray Emeana, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to compel
Okorocha to sell the aircraft and return the money to the state
treasury.
The party said the purchase of Imo Air
was done at the expense of workers in the state, adding that it was a
misplacement of priority.
The statement partly read, “As of today,
pensioners and civil servants in Imo State are being owed months of
salary arrears. There is alarming unemployment and total collapse of
infrastructure while there is no functional education or health care
system in all the 27 local government areas of the state.
“We call on President Buhari to ask
Okorocha to sell the aircraft and return the money for the payment of
workers’ backlog of salaries, settlement of pension arrears and
gratuities, building of infrastructure and other developmental needs of
the state.”
Okorocha, however, said the 10-year
partnership between Dana Air and the Imo State Government on the running
of Imo Air, was borne out of the desire to increase business
activities, improve tourism and provide employment opportunities for
residents of the state.
“This is a happy moment in the state.
The aim of going into this business is because I want to drive traffic
to Imo State as Imo is genuinely becoming the fastest developing state
outside Abuja and Lagos,” Okorocha said while inaugurating Imo Air last
week.
