For the records

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/06/imo-govt-to-probe-ex-gov-udenwa-over-uncompleted-projects/amp/

By Chidi Nkwopara


OWERRI— Imo State government has declared that it may probe the former governor of the state, Chief Achike Udenwa, over his role in the commissioning of uncompleted projects before he left office in 2007.


The multi-billion Naira projects include Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, International Market and Sam Okwaraji Stadium, Orlu.

The projects were commissioned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the request of the former governor, even when jobs on them were still ongoing and contract sums paid.

Political Adviser to Imo State Governor, Chief Rex Anunobi, said there was need to probe the former Governor, given the fact that the projects were hurriedly commissioned when they were not completed.

He said it was inconceivable that “the so-called signature projects of the previous administration took eight years to execute and yet were not completed before commissioning.”


Chief Anunobi wondered why Chief Udenwa had been accusing Ohakim of abandoning those projects which had already been scheduled as completed and commissioned.

“Apart from the fact that those projects were sited in only one town in one local government, how come they commissioned the projects only to now start crying of marginalisation?” he asked.

Even this Owerri city school built by Okorocha looks better than what you've been disturbing us about.

Okorocha is building 2 Stadia in Orlu and Okigwe and they are no 6 inch block Stadia.

Abagworo:
Okorocha is building 2 Stadia in Orlu and Okigwe and they are no 6 inch block Stadia.

Okorocha is not building any stadium in Orlu of 12 lgas, but he is building a new stadium in Okigwe of 6 lgas.

Orlu has no stadium since Okorocha became governor, till today.

ORO says he shall represent Orlu in the senate from May 2019. Lol. What a politician, ORO.

Okorocha inspects the ongoing construction of Okigwe Stadium.

Abagworo:
New GRA, Owerri

The second picture is definitely not nigeria. That picture (2nd one) exemplified what I was talking about on the enugu thread before this useless parasite with different names came there to dispute my claims. Those houses were built with brick, not block and cement PLASTARD houses in nigeria. Look at the landscape, the pedestrian sidewalks, the trees planted at exact intervals, street with demarcated lanes, the lush green GRASSES that are planted at different locations instead of leaving the ground exposed. Something else I even talked about was shown on that picture, which is the manhole covers to indicate the water pipe infrastructure that are laid SMACK in the middle of their roads. That small round thing in the middle of that road, after the first packed car on the right and before the second parked car is that MANHOLE cover. I am technologically disadvantaged because I don't know how to maneuver my way around the net. I don't know how to post pictures or videos. I don't even remember how to copy and paste anymore like I used to. But for the purpose of enlightening some of you FOLKS in nigeria, I'm gonna go learn. This is very very important. It's the difference between the RUT that our people face and what's obtainable in western countries. The difference between the two worlds are mind boggling of epic proportions. Based on some of the stuff that is posted here on a daily basis, some of you guys don't even have a clue.

Ofuzo:


The second picture is definitely not nigeria. That picture (2nd one) exemplified what I was talking about on the enugu thread before this useless parasite with different names came there to dispute my claims. Those houses were built with brick, not block and cement PLASTARD houses in nigeria. Look at the landscape, the pedestrian sidewalks, the trees planted at exact intervals, street with demarcated lanes, the lush green GRASSES that are planted at different locations instead of leaving the ground exposed. Something else I even talked about was shown on that picture, which is the manhole covers to indicate the water pipe infrastructure that are laid SMACK in the middle of their roads. That small round thing in the middle of that road, after the first packed car on the right and before the second parked car is that MANHOLE cover. I am technologically disadvantaged because I don't know how to maneuver my way around the net. I don't know how to post pictures or videos. I don't even remember how to copy and paste anymore like I used to. But for the purpose of enlightening some of you FOLKS in nigeria, I'm gonna go learn. This is very very important. It's the difference between the RUT that our people face and what's obtainable in western countries. The difference between the two worlds are mind boggling of epic proportions. Based on some of the stuff that is posted here on a daily basis, some of you guys don't even have a clue.

I was actually talking about the two pictures that was labeled GRA owerri.

Ofuzo:


The second picture is definitely not nigeria. That picture (2nd one) exemplified what I was talking about on the enugu thread before this useless parasite with different names came there to dispute my claims. Those houses were built with brick, not block and cement PLASTARD houses in nigeria. Look at the landscape, the pedestrian sidewalks, the trees planted at exact intervals, street with demarcated lanes, the lush green GRASSES that are planted at different locations instead of leaving the ground exposed. Something else I even talked about was shown on that picture, which is the manhole covers to indicate the water pipe infrastructure that are laid SMACK in the middle of their roads. That small round thing in the middle of that road, after the first packed car on the right and before the second parked car is that MANHOLE cover. I am technologically disadvantaged because I don't know how to maneuver my way around the net. I don't know how to post pictures or videos. I don't even remember how to copy and paste anymore like I used to. But for the purpose of enlightening some of you FOLKS in nigeria, I'm gonna go learn. This is very very important. It's the difference between the RUT that our people face and what's obtainable in western countries. The difference between the two worlds are mind boggling of epic proportions. Based on some of the stuff that is posted here on a daily basis, some of you guys don't even have a clue.

I'm with you on that. It still amazes me how this easy environment cannot be achieved in Nigeria by Government. Actually thats how my house in Nigeria is within a fenced expanse of land but I gave it top notch finishing and greenery modeled after that photo. The next Governor of Imo State will be a younger man and we will show Nigerians how things are done.

Abagworo:
Okorocha is building 2 Stadia in Orlu and Okigwe and they are no 6 inch block Stadia.

...

instead of building another he could have renovated the previous one there to standard.. public funds should not be spent any how na

amadice:
...

instead of building another he could have renovated the previous one there to standard.. public funds should not be spent any how na

Maybe because the old one is not spacious and no land left for expansion. If not your idea is preferable.

Much of Owerri has the potential to achieve that crispy ckean looks of American and European cities with just a little touch like redesigning the walkways or adding Western standard walkways where there's none.

Ofuzo:


The second picture is definitely not nigeria. That picture (2nd one) exemplified what I was talking about on the enugu thread before this useless parasite with different names came there to dispute my claims. Those houses were built with brick, not block and cement PLASTARD houses in nigeria. Look at the landscape, the pedestrian sidewalks, the trees planted at exact intervals, street with demarcated lanes, the lush green GRASSES that are planted at different locations instead of leaving the ground exposed. Something else I even talked about was shown on that picture, which is the manhole covers to indicate the water pipe infrastructure that are laid SMACK in the middle of their roads. That small round thing in the middle of that road, after the first packed car on the right and before the second parked car is that MANHOLE cover. I am technologically disadvantaged because I don't know how to maneuver my way around the net.[i][/i] I don't know how to post pictures or videos. I don't even remember how to copy and paste anymore like I used to. But for the purpose of enlightening some of you FOLKS in nigeria, I'm gonna go learn. This is very very important. It's the difference between the RUT that our people face and what's obtainable in western countries. The difference between the two worlds are mind boggling of epic proportions. Based on some of the stuff that is posted here on a daily basis, some of you guys don't even have a clue.

We're here to help.

I want to be alive to see at least one city in Nigeria radically transformed to even compete with American, European, and South African cities..

nwoke37:
I want to be alive to see at least one city in Nigeria radically transformed to even compete with American, European, and South African cities..

If Igbo States had the kind of money in Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwaibom and Delta States nothing would have prevented Igbo cities from competing with international standard cities. All Southeast States receive basically 36 billion Naira per annum respectively which is barely enough to offset salaries and service loans. However our pace is better than others when you put into consideration the funds available for infrastructure.

Abagworo:
Much of Owerri has the potential to achieve that crispy ckean looks of American and European cities with just a little touch like redesigning the walkways or adding Western standard walkways where there's none.

"Owerri has the potential". This is why I'm jumping up and down for joy with okorocha's URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS. Even though, they're mediocre, he at least have the vision. The problem of our government/ governors is lack of VISION. Okorocha, with all his faults have some vision. He had the foresight and fortitude to start the first FREE EDUCATION system in the south east. He had the right idea on how cities are supposed to look by starting URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS. He has the balls to get rid of the nuisance called keke off owerri's major roads (me thinks they should be banned altogether) He has attempted to move markets to new and different locations. He walked in to Douglas house as a governor and started bulldozing old DILAPIDATED structures and replacing them with brand new ones. The next thing a governor of imo state should do is to end STREET HAWKING, STREET TRADING, TRADING ON PEDESTRIAN SIDEWALKS, TRADING ON STREET/ROAD SHOULDERS AND MEDIAN STRIP. Even trading on our HIGHWAYS are going on in igboland. The landscape of igbo cities and indeed all nigerian cities are LITTERED with residential buildings with zinc attachments where people are trading in all kinds of wares. Just trading everywhere and anywhere should be banned. If you bring in a JAPANESE or a GERMAN to igboland to govern their states and cities, they will replicate what is obtainable in western countries there. It's not rocket science, rather, it's plain simple planning and organisation. In western countries, every single thing is ORGANIZED. Because of that, there's RULES AND REGULATION for everything. Because of these rules and regulations, an ENFORCEMENT mechanism was instituted to make sure nobody DEVIATES.

Simple organizational instruments and enforcement mechanisms are nowhere to be found in igboland. People wake up in the morning and drive whichever way they want, build whatever they like, trade anywhere there's space etc etc etc.
I left nigeria in the early eighties. I was gone for about 10 years before I came back for the first time. I was SHOCKED to my bones of what I observed. Nigeria is the most DISORGANIZED thing I've ever seen in my entire life. If I hadn't left nigeria to very ADVANCED countries, I could still be thinking that aba is swell, or enugu is beautiful!! I already made a comprehensive observation of what is wrong with the place. So the diagnosis and the solution is permanently planted in my mind. Yes there are solutions, even though we practically did everything the WRONG way.
Let me use our cities as an example. Before you start building a city, the FIRST thing that MUST be done is to start building on a virgin land unlike what you have in igboland where cities were built in people's villages. The simple reason is to avoid what you have now where igbo cities are surrounded by people's ancestral villages and therefore, cannot expand further. When a city cannot expand, decay will set in, and the city will eventually die. The first thing you build in a city, before you start building anything else, is a WASTE AND WATER TREATMENT PLANT. Right now, what you have in igboland is people burying human waste in their backyards, which they have now compounded by drilling boreholes for drinking and bathing, a mere ten feet away from the septic tanks where this human waste is disposed off thereby enhancing the possibility of drinking water contaminated with human waste because the septic tanks can leak. There's no cities in the western world built like this. Of course, an aerial mapping of the city should also be done, which will allow the government to define a geographical spread that will encompass the said city. After that, the government will then slowly develop the cities residential and commercial districts, by parceling out land to REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS, as opposed to what's obtainable in igboland where individuals are selling ancestral land to individuals to build WHATEVER!! When you allow real estate companies to develop cities, there's a uniformity in the building and construction and a regularity in the landscaping and designs. We make fun of Yoruba cities, but the concept I just described here are easily attainable there, because of the way they built their cities.

Ofuzo:



"Owerri has the potential". This is why I'm jumping up and down for joy with okorocha's URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS. Even though, they're mediocre, he at least have the vision. The problem of our government/ governors is lack of VISION. Okorocha, with all his faults have some vision. He had the foresight and fortitude to start the first FREE EDUCATION system in the south east. He had the right idea on how cities are supposed to look by starting URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS. He has the balls to get rid of the nuisance called keke off owerri's major roads (me thinks they should be banned altogether) He has attempted to move markets to new and different locations. He walked in to Douglas house as a governor and started bulldozing old DILAPIDATED structures and replacing them with brand new ones. The next thing a governor of imo state should do is to end STREET HAWKING, STREET TRADING, TRADING ON PEDESTRIAN SIDEWALKS, TRADING ON STREET/ROAD SHOULDERS AND MEDIAN STRIP. Even trading on our HIGHWAYS are going on in igboland. The landscape of igbo cities and indeed all nigerian cities are LITTERED with residential buildings with zinc attachments where people are trading in. Just trading everywhere and anywhere should be banned. If you bring in a JAPANESE or a GERMAN to igboland to govern their states and cities, they will replicate what is obtainable in western countries there. It's not rocket science, rather, it's plain simple planning and organisation. In western countries, everything single thing is ORGANIZED. Because of that, there's RULES AND REGULATION for everything. Because of these rules and regulations, an ENFORCEMENT mechanism was instituted to make sure nobody DEVIATES.

Simple organizational instruments and enforcement mechanisms are nowhere to be found in igboland. People wake up in the morning and drive whichever way they want, build whatever they like, trade anywhere there's space etc etc etc.
I left nigeria in the early eighties. I was gone for about 10 years before I came back for the first time. I was SHOCKED to my bones of what I observed. Nigeria is the most DISORGANIZED thing I've ever seen in my entire life. If I hadn't left nigeria to very ADVANCED countries, I could still be thinking that aba is swell, or enugu is beautiful!! I already made a comprehensive observation of what is wrong with the place. So the diagnosis and the solution is permanently planted in my mind. Yes there are solutions, even though we practically did everything the WRONG way.
Let me use our cities as an example. Before you start building a city, the FIRST thing that MUST be done is to start building on a virgin land unlike what you have in igboland where cities were built in people's villages. The simple reason is to avoid what you have now where igbo cities are surrounded by people's ancestral villages and therefore, cannot expand further. When a city cannot expand, decay will set in, and the city will eventually die. The first thing you build in a city, before you start building anything else, is a WASTE AND WATER TREATMENT PLANT. Right now, what you have in igboland is people burying human waste in their backyards, which they have now compounded by drilling boreholes for drinking and bathing, a mere ten feet away from the septic tanks where this human waste is disposed off thereby enhancing the possibility of drinking water contaminated with human waste because the septic tanks can leak. There's no cities in the western world built like this. Of course, an aerial mapping of the city should also be done, which will allow the government to define a geographical spread that will encompass the said city. After that, the government will then slowly develop the cities residential and commercial districts, by parceling out land to REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS, as opposed to what's obtainable in igboland where individuals are selling ancestral land to individuals to build WHATEVER!! When you allow real estate companies to develop cities, there's a uniformity in the building and construction and a regularity in the landscaping and designs. We make fun of Yoruba cities, but the concept I just described here are easily attainable there, because of the way they built their cities.

Politics is one of the major reasons for inability of government to implement some of these ideas. If Rochas Okorocha started his urban renewal policy in 1st tenure he would have lost out in 2015 elections because he won based on popularity among the masses despite the gang up by strong politicians. Politicians capitalize on the pains involved in implementing most real policies to swing public opinion. They tell people that the Governor is wicked for asking them to relocate to a better environment and the Governor is wicked for demolishing all the attached shanties to approved building structures. I am happy with Okorocha for taking the risk with his political career in order to make Imo better.

Abagworo:


Politics is one of the major reasons for inability of government to implement some of these ideas. If Rochas Okorocha started his urban renewal policy in 1st tenure he would have lost out in 2015 elections because he won based on popularity among the masses despite the gang up by strong politicians. Politicians capitalize on the pains involved in implementing most real policies to swing public opinion. They tell people that the Governor is wicked for asking them to relocate to a better environment and the Governor is wicked for demolishing all the attached shanties to approved building structures. I am happy with Okorocha for taking the risk with his political career in order to make Imo better.

Kindly respect yourself, and stop posting fake pictures on nairaland. It's against the rule here. Why would you download a pix of an overseas city and call it Owerri?

How come you never condemn Okorocha here not - even for making pensioners earn 60% of their pensions.

I can't wait to see him out of Douglas House so that another man with a totally different view of development takes over, preferably Frank Nneji of APGA

SoNature:


Kindly respect yourself, and stop posting fake pictures on nairaland. It's against the rule here. Why would you download a pix of an overseas city and call it Owerri?

How come you never condemn Okorocha here not - even for making pensioners earn 60% of their pensions.

I can't wait to see him out of Douglas House so that another man with a totally different view of development takes over, preferably Frank Nneji of APGA

We already know our next Governor and he is not Frank Nneji. Our next Governor is below 50. I was discussing with someone with high IQ like myself on the need to move away from your local way to civilization.

Abagworo:


We already know our next Governor and he is not Frank Nneji. Our next Governor is below 50. I was discussing with someone with high IQ like myself on the need to move away from your local way to civilization.

It's a good thing you are not from Imo State because if yours is the definition of high IQ, then Imo State is indeed in trouble

We all know you have to do your BMC, Owerri/PH branch, but stop downloading pix of overseas' cities and sharing them with us, telling a fake story of what Owerri looks like.

Just keep sharing the pictures but don't upload fake ones...that's all I care about

Mr Billionaire

SoNature:


It's a good thing you are not from Imo State because if yours is the definition of high IQ, then Imo State is indeed in trouble

We all know you have to do your BMC, Owerri/PH branch, but stop downloading pix of overseas' cities and sharing them with us, telling a fake story of what Owerri looks like.

Just keep sharing the pictures but don't upload fake ones...that's all I care about

Mr Billionaire

There is no fake picture here and all of Owerri don't look the same.

Abagworo:
New GRA, Owerri

These are the pictures I am talking about

Abagworo:


If Igbo States had the kind of money in Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwaibom and Delta States nothing would have prevented Igbo cities from competing with international standard cities. All Southeast States receive basically 36 billion Naira per annum respectively which is barely enough to offset salaries and service loans. However our pace is better than others when you put into consideration the funds available for infrastructure.

I completely disagree with you on this and I'll tell you why in a little bit, but before I do that, Let me try to say a few words about taxes. TAXES is the OIL that has powered great civilisation to reach their apogee, and attain their lofty heights. It is the building block that allowed the accelerated development of these civilisations. All the entire western countries were built with TAXES unlike in third world countries in africa, where the countries are developed with the royalties of their mineral resources. For most part of their history in the US, high income earners paid upwards of 90% of their income in taxes. That is to say that, if they made $100.00 of income, they will have to furk off 90 cents for taxes and only 10 cents for themselves. The high income bracket have since come down from their peak, starting from the Kennedy years, when he slashed taxes to about 50% of income. Nowadays, in the US, the high income bracket pay taxes in the 28 percentile. These taxes were collected and used to build a first rate infrastructure that was the ENVY of the world. Basically, all the roads are tarred in the US wherever there's human settlement. Water from a water treatment plant is piped straight to their homes, businesses and public buildings. The water that is used in peeing, pooing and washing is then piped back to a waste treatment plant, where it's impurities are removed and the water is discharged. Instead of buying gas cannisters for cooking, gas is piped directly to people's houses. Some states in nigeria are celebrating their first overhead bridge (called flyovers in nigeria), but, there are millions of such bridges in the US. As a matter of fact, you can easily count about fourty overhead Bridges from Washington DC to Baltimore on interstate 95, the distance of which is less than thirty miles. On that same highway, the grasses that are planted next to the shoulders of the highway are periodically trimmed, to make it not look bushy. Americans will build a road from calabar to dakar Senegal, which is probably about 3000 miles, plant grasses on both sides of the roads, and will regularly cut and trimmed them on the entire length of that road. The INFRASTRUCTURE here is just FURKING UNBELIEVABLE.

Now, back to taxes. I have in the past accussed Okorocha and the rest of igbo governors of embezzling their state taxes. There's no way, this can be a secret!! It's very obvious to the naked eye. The shocking thing about the daylight robbery is the conspiracy of silence about the issue. This is the nonchalant, conspiracy of silence behavior that has allowed MEDIOCRITY to run supreme in igboland for several decades now, where blatant abuse of things are going on, with everybody feigning ignorance about it. This exactly why I regularly brought up the bravery of Arthur eze, for lambasting and tongue lashing abia state elders and the governor in their faces. This is how serious this lack of accountability is on tax collection. Now listen to me carefully, I can go from ngwa high school area of aba owerri road and collect taxes from people trading there to the end of portharcourt road, and collect not less than one billion naira on a DAILY basis!!! I'm talking only about one road that is not upto three miles long!! YES, you heard right, just one road in aba on a daily basis for one billion naira. Just multiply that on millions of trading, on hundreds and hundreds of roads in its two major cities and you'd know what I'm talking about.

I remember seeing Okorocha on u tube videos talking about his ambition to start a free education system in imo state. That ambition, he regularly stated, was anchored on the fact that imo state generated about 1 billion naira in IGR. That was the reason he gave for it's affordability. Fast forward to a few years later, and I watched a channel TV documentary on the large numbers of hotels springing up in owerri. I specifically remembered one commissioner that was interviewed, stating that the IGR of the state had increased tremendously as a result. Well, if that's the case, why am I hearing that imo state is generating a measly 500 naira a month in taxes? How did imo state go from one billion naira a month seven years ago, to five hundred million currently, with frenzied development which is usually followed by bursts of economic activities. Something shady is going on. If abia give me the mandate to collect their taxes, I'll be netting not less than fifty billion naira a year. Ditto to the rest of igbo states. Sometime ago, anambra state was jubilating about raising their IGR to about 1.4 billion naira a month, about the same time that little old, one city state of bayelsa announced a monthly IGR of 1.3 billion!!! FOLKS, this a big JOKE. We ought to do better than this.
Finally, the igbo states, with their large commercial enterprises don't need that little pittance from the federation account to succeed. There are a slew of TAXES that can be collected to power their developments to infinite heights. In developed countries, their system is designed to generate taxes every time money changes hands. On a daily basis, the taxes yielded as a result is soo humongous that it was enough to POWER all their developmental objectives and ambitions, without MINERAL RESOURCES.

Why are Imo state people always dumb and useless just like their state? Hateful envious people. You don't know anything about Anambra IGR because our IGR is almost 3b per month. One of the top 10 in Nigeria presently.

You are worried that Anambra has 1.4b monthly IGR but you are not bothered that your worthless Imo state rakes in a peanut of 20million or less per month?

You have a thread but you hopeless animals can never discuss the mess in your state rather you all are writing feel-good rubbish ignoring the backwardness and rot in your own state. In case you guys have nothing to discuss about your Imo state, lemme give you lots some expo.

Discuss about:

1. Zero IGR

2. Huge mountain of debt with nothing to show.

3. Zero government presence and infrastructure

4. Zero economic activities.

5. Zero human capital development

6. Zero opportunities

7. Non payment of salaries

8. Non payment of pensions

9. Wasting of scarce resources in moulding of statues

10. Zero investment

11. Zero Industrialisation


Etc.

Every year Imo state runs in circle because you lots refused to discuss issues that matters about your state. And you wonder why the state is stagnant because you lots spend so much time and energy talking about others. This must be a curse.

Ofuzo:


I completely disagree with you on this and I'll tell you why in a little bit, but before I do that, Let me try to say a few words about taxes. TAXES is the OIL that has powered great civilisation to reach their apogee, and attain their lofty heights. It is the building block that allowed the accelerated development of these civilisations. All the entire western countries were built with TAXES unlike in third world countries in africa, where the countries are developed with the royalties of their mineral resources. For most part of their history in the US, high income earners paid upwards of 90% of their income in taxes. That is to say that, if they made $100.00 of income, they will have to furk off 90 cents for taxes and only 10 cents for themselves. The high income bracket have since come down from their peak, starting from the Kennedy years, when he slashed taxes to about 50% of income. Nowadays, in the US, the high income bracket pay taxes in the 28 percentile. These taxes were collected and used to build a first rate infrastructure that was the ENVY of the world. Basically, all the roads are tarred in the US wherever there's human settlement. Water from a water treatment plant is piped straight to their homes, businesses and public buildings. The water that is used in peeing, pooing and washing is then piped back to a waste treatment plant, where it's impurities are removed and the water is discharged. Instead of buying gas cannisters for cooking, gas is piped directly to people's houses. Some states in nigeria are celebrating their first overhead bridge (called flyovers in nigeria), but, there are millions of such bridges in the US. As a matter of fact, you can easily count about fourty overhead Bridges from Washington DC to Baltimore on interstate 95, the distance of which is less than thirty miles. On that same highway, the grasses that are planted next to the shoulders of the highway are periodically trimmed, to make it not look bushy. Americans will build a road from calabar to dakar Senegal, which is probably about 3000 miles, plant grasses on both sides of the roads, and will regularly cut and trimmed them on the entire length of that road. The INFRASTRUCTURE here is just FURKING UNBELIEVABLE.

Now, back to taxes. I have in the past accussed Okorocha and the rest of igbo governors of embezzling their state taxes. There's no way, this can be a secret!! It's very obvious to the naked eye. The shocking thing about the daylight robbery is the conspiracy of silence about the issue. This is the nonchalant, conspiracy of silence behavior that has allowed MEDIOCRITY to run supreme in igboland for several decades now, where blatant abuse of things are going on, with everybody feigning ignorance about it. This exactly why I regularly brought up the bravery of Arthur eze, for lambasting and tongue lashing abia state elders and the governor in their faces. This is how serious this lack of accountability is on tax collection. Now listen to me carefully, I can go from ngwa high school area of aba owerri road and collect taxes from people trading there to the end of portharcourt road, and collect not less than one billion naira on a DAILY basis!!! I'm talking only about one road that is not upto three miles long!! YES, you heard right, just one road in aba on a daily basis for one billion naira. Just multiply that on millions of trading, on hundreds and hundreds of roads in its two major cities and you'd know what I'm talking about.

I remember seeing Okorocha on u tube videos talking about his ambition to start a free education system in imo state. That ambition, he regularly stated, was anchored on the fact that imo state generated about 1 billion naira in IGR. That was the reason he gave for it's affordability. Fast forward to a few years later, and I watched a channel TV documentary on the large numbers of hotels springing up in owerri. I specifically remembered one commissioner that was interviewed, stating that the IGR of the state had increased tremendously as a result. Well, if that's the case, why am I hearing that imo state is generating a measly 500 naira a month in taxes? How did imo state go from one billion naira a month seven years ago, to five hundred million currently, with frenzied development which is usually followed by bursts of economic activities. Something shady is going on. If abia give me the mandate to collect their taxes, I'll be netting not less than fifty billion naira a year. Ditto to the rest of igbo states. Sometime ago, anambra state was jubilating about raising their IGR to about 1.4 billion naira a month about the same time that little old, one city state of bayelsa announced a monthly IGR of 1.3 billion!!! FOLKS, this a big JOKE. We ought to do better than this.
Finally, the igbo states, with their large commercial enterprises don't need that little pittance from the federation account to succeed. There are a slew of TAXES that can be collected to power their developments to infinite heights. In developed countries, their system is designed to generate taxes every time money changes hands. On a daily basis, the taxes yielded as a result is soo humongous that it was enough to POWER all their developmental objectives and ambitions, without MINERAL RESOURCES.

oneeast2:
Why are Imo state people always dumb and useless just like their state? Hateful envious people. You don't know anything about Anambra IGR because our IGR is almost 3b per month. One of top 10 in Nigeria presently.

You are worried that Anambra has 1.4b monthly IGR but you are not bothered that your worthless Imo state rakes in a leanut of 20million or less per month?

You have a thread but you hopeless animals can never discuss the mess in your state rather you all are writing feel-good rubbish ignoring the backwardness and rot in your own state. In case you guys have nothing to discuss about your Imo state, lemme give you lots some expo.

Discuss about:

1. Zero IGR

2. Huge mountain of debt with nothing to show.

3. Zero government presence and infrastructure

4. Zero economic activities.

5. Zero human capital development

6. Zero opportunities

7. Non payment of salaries

8. Non payment of pensions

9. Wasting of scarce resources in moulding of statues

10. Zero investment

11. Zero Industrialisation


Etc.

Every year Imo state runs in circle because you lots refused to discuss issues that matters about your state. And you wonder why the state is stagnant because you lots spend so much time and energy talking about others. This must be a curse.

Let's keep off this thread for now, no direct attack from anybody.

SoNature:


These are the pictures I am talking about

I've explained the pictures and I've repeatedly shown that 2nd one because it's the model of what I will help make some streets in Owerri look like when I involve myself from next year.. The 1st one as shown here is Akachi road Owerri.

Ofuzo:


I completely disagree with you on this and I'll tell you why in a little bit, but before I do that, Let me try to say a few words about taxes. TAXES is the OIL that has powered great civilisation to reach their apogee, and attain their lofty heights. It is the building block that allowed the accelerated development of these civilisations. All the entire western countries were built with TAXES unlike in third world countries in africa, where the countries are developed with the royalties of their mineral resources. For most part of their history in the US, high income earners paid upwards of 90% of their income in taxes. That is to say that, if they made $100.00 of income, they will have to furk off 90 cents for taxes and only 10 cents for themselves. The high income bracket have since come down from their peak, starting from the Kennedy years, when he slashed taxes to about 50% of income. Nowadays, in the US, the high income bracket pay taxes in the 28 percentile. These taxes were collected and used to build a first rate infrastructure that was the ENVY of the world. Basically, all the roads are tarred in the US wherever there's human settlement. Water from a water treatment plant is piped straight to their homes, businesses and public buildings. The water that is used in peeing, pooing and washing is then piped back to a waste treatment plant, where it's impurities are removed and the water is discharged. Instead of buying gas cannisters for cooking, gas is piped directly to people's houses. Some states in nigeria are celebrating their first overhead bridge (called flyovers in nigeria), but, there are millions of such bridges in the US. As a matter of fact, you can easily count about fourty overhead Bridges from Washington DC to Baltimore on interstate 95, the distance of which is less than thirty miles. On that same highway, the grasses that are planted next to the shoulders of the highway are periodically trimmed, to make it not look bushy. Americans will build a road from calabar to dakar Senegal, which is probably about 3000 miles, plant grasses on both sides of the roads, and will regularly cut and trimmed them on the entire length of that road. The INFRASTRUCTURE here is just FURKING UNBELIEVABLE.

Now, back to taxes. I have in the past accussed Okorocha and the rest of igbo governors of embezzling their state taxes. There's no way, this can be a secret!! It's very obvious to the naked eye. The shocking thing about the daylight robbery is the conspiracy of silence about the issue. This is the nonchalant, conspiracy of silence behavior that has allowed MEDIOCRITY to run supreme in igboland for several decades now, where blatant abuse of things are going on, with everybody feigning ignorance about it. This exactly why I regularly brought up the bravery of Arthur eze, for lambasting and tongue lashing abia state elders and the governor in their faces. This is how serious this lack of accountability is on tax collection. Now listen to me carefully, I can go from ngwa high school area of aba owerri road and collect taxes from people trading there to the end of portharcourt road, and collect not less than one billion naira on a DAILY basis!!! I'm talking only about one road that is not upto three miles long!! YES, you heard right, just one road in aba on a daily basis for one billion naira. Just multiply that on millions of trading, on hundreds and hundreds of roads in its two major cities and you'd know what I'm talking about.

I remember seeing Okorocha on u tube videos talking about his ambition to start a free education system in imo state. That ambition, he regularly stated, was anchored on the fact that imo state generated about 1 billion naira in IGR. That was the reason he gave for it's affordability. Fast forward to a few years later, and I watched a channel TV documentary on the large numbers of hotels springing up in owerri. I specifically remembered one commissioner that was interviewed, stating that the IGR of the state had increased tremendously as a result. Well, if that's the case, why am I hearing that imo state is generating a measly 500 naira a month in taxes? How did imo state go from one billion naira a month seven years ago, to five hundred million currently, with frenzied development which is usually followed by bursts of economic activities. Something shady is going on. If abia give me the mandate to collect their taxes, I'll be netting not less than fifty billion naira a year. Ditto to the rest of igbo states. Sometime ago, anambra state was jubilating about raising their IGR to about 1.4 billion naira a month, about the same time that little old, one city state of bayelsa announced a monthly IGR of 1.3 billion!!! FOLKS, this a big JOKE. We ought to do better than this.
Finally, the igbo states, with their large commercial enterprises don't need that little pittance from the federation account to succeed. There are a slew of TAXES that can be collected to power their developments to infinite heights. In developed countries, their system is designed to generate taxes every time money changes hands. On a daily basis, the taxes yielded as a result is soo humongous that it was enough to POWER all their developmental objectives and ambitions, without MINERAL RESOURCES.

Igbos and Nigerians don't like paying tax because of our records of mismanagement. Even Europeans met their stiffest resistance while trying to tax Igbo women which led to 1929 "Aba women's riot". The best way to solve our infrastructural deficit would have been privatization like Eko Atlantic or Dubai but we have that mentality of believing Government makes enough money from sales of crude and shouldn't disturb our business. Imo free education is sponsored using Governor's salary and security votes supported with deductions from workers salaries.

Abagworo:


Igbos and Nigerians don't like paying tax because of our records of mismanagement. Even Europeans met their stiffest resistance while trying to tax Igbo women which led to 1929 "Aba women's riot". The best way to solve our infrastructural deficit would have been privatization like Eko Atlantic or Dubai but we have that mentality of believing Government makes enough money from sales of crude and shouldn't disturb our business. Imo free education is sponsored using Governor's salary and security votes supported with deductions from workers salaries.

I sure do agree with you on igbos and nigerians not wanting to pay taxes. But, it's not just nigerians or igbos, but a world wide phenomenon. In western countries like the US, paying taxes is a vernacular event that is strictly observed. Since nigerians do not like to pay taxes, they must be COMPELLED to do so. Having said that, there are mitigating circumstances that will block a smooth implementation of taxes and tax laws in the chaotic, informal environment that is the climate in nigeria. I recommend two things (1) streamline the tax process (2) gradually phase out the INFORMAL sector. In streamlining the tax laws and processes, you must identify which taxes will be easy to collect. We all know that personal income taxes will be hard to collect, especially by the state government, so you must rule that out. The one tax that will be easy to collect by state governments will be REAL ESTATE TAXES. That one is a no brainier because all the public, residential and commercial buildings are all out there for the world to see. For the towns and localities, sales tax on goods and services will surfix, because they are closest to the people and so will be easy for them to collect.
However, for collection of sales taxes to be successful, the two tier system that is rampant in our cities MUST come to an end. By two tier system, I mean the INFORMAL sector ie HAWKING, STREET TRADING, HIGHWAY TRADING AND ATTACHMENT TRADING. Collecting taxes in nigeria, nay igboland will never work as long as you allow these two tier system of established businesses and informal ones to operate side by side.

we must drastically reduce the informal sector in Nigeria

nwoke37:
we must drastically reduce the informal sector in Nigeria

We can realistically reduce Nigeria’s informal sector by supporting the players with low-interest-rate loans and GRANTS, so that their businesses will grow and start paying taxes and employing people

If we move to reduce the informal sector by sending people out of their sources of income, we are effectively increasing abject poverty and crimes in the society

Official statistics states that the informal sector contributes over 60% Nigeria's GDP. So, we must be careful so that we don't shut down the entire economy.

Really, the informal sector gets me worried sick because they control over a half of our entire economy

SoNature:


We can realistically reduce Nigeria’s informal sector by supporting the players with low-interest-rate loans and GRANTS, so that their businesses will grow and start paying taxes and employing people

If we move to reduce the informal sector by sending people out of their sources of income, we are effectively increasing abject poverty and crimes in the society

Official statistics states that the informal sector contributes over 60% Nigeria's GDP. So, we must be careful so that we don't shut down the entire economy.

Really, the informal sector gets me worried sick because they control over a half of our entire economy

It's true that shutting down the millions of hawkers and street traders will upend people's means of livelihood, which is why I suggested that it should be done GRADUALLY, but in the end, it should be DONE. Another form of it that can be adopted is street vending. Street vendors can be licensed and allowed to ply their wares in strategic locations in the city ONLY with the approval of the city government. The reason for this, is to checkmate it's proliferation and unbridled explosion as it currently exist. There are certain other things that can be done on the quest for this formalisation. One of them is the regulating of people's entrance into the workforce. People, should only be allowed to join the workforce from a certain age. Nobody from the age of one to the age of thirteen should be allowed to work. People from the age of thirteen, to the age of sixteen should only be allowed to work for only, say, four hours a day and sixteen to eighteen year olds can be allowed to work full-time which is eight hours. The state government should pass a law to this effect. Along the same lines, the law should also stipulate a mandatory requirement for all parents to register their wards in school. Failure to do so should attract penalties like fines and jail time. At this juncture, all the igbo states should have instituted a free education system from kindergarten to secondary level. I don't agree with free education at the university level because the states just can't afford it.

Now, before the GRADUAL phase out of the INFORMAL sector, certain things needs to be accomplished for it not to cause pain and hardship on people trying to make a living in any way possible. Some certain wealthy igbo business people that currently have business operations with very very positive cash flow, should be invited to build the massive infrastructure that will be needed to accommodate street traders. There have to be a REVOLUTION in the way that housing infrastructure is built. Usually, in developed countries, only real estate companies are involved in the construction of residential and commercial buildings, in collaboration with the city and state governments. Most of their constructions are MIXED USED developments. Mixed used, in construction parlance simply means private and commercial. So when these real estate companies build residential properties, they also build commercial ones. The commercial buildings are built on the major boulevard of the estate, while the residentials are built behind them. Real estate developers understand the dynamics of the occupancy rates, that allows them to continuously break new grounds for new estates, when a certain occupancy level have been reached. So, in developed countries, there's never any street trading because there are letable shops for anybody interested in plying their trade. Trading on the streets and sidewalks are not allowed.

Moreover, we can't continuously use poverty as an escuse to not advance our CIVILIZATION which is stuck in the 20th CENTURY. Other countries of the world have FIGURED out how to live better than what's obtainable in aba for example. When okada people were rampant, people believed that bad things will happen if they were BANNED. Same thing is happening with keke. Like I said, we should endeavor by all means possible, to get away from okada and keke civilisation, if not, we will end the way of India, a country where 300 million people are shiiting on top of 1 billion people.

On a good note, the igbos are excelling in all spheres here in the US. Last year, about six igbos were drafted to play in the national football league, NFL. I think, another four was drafted to play in the national basketball association the same year. The igbos by a mile has the largest contingent of non indegenious Americans playing in the NBA and NFL. The early pioneers in this regards are obed ariri, igwebuike, christian okoye nicknamed by the media here "THE NIGERIAN NIGHTMARE". This year again, another six were drafted. Join me in congratulating them and pray that the make the active and final roster that will allow them to play during the regular season. Their names are

UCHENNA NWOSU
DERRICK NNADI
CHUKS OKOROAFOR
JOEL IYIEGBUNIWE
OGBONNIA OKORONKWO
DUKE EJIOFOR

Ofuzo:


It's true that shutting down the millions of hawkers and street traders will upend people's means of livelihood, which is why I suggested that it should be done GRADUALLY, but in the end, it should be DONE. Another form of it that can be adopted is street vending. Street vendors can be licensed and allowed to ply their wares in strategic locations in the city ONLY with the approval of the city government. The reason for this, is to checkmate it's proliferation and unbridled explosion as it currently exist. There are certain other things that can be done on the quest for this formalisation. One of them is the regulating of people's entrance into the workforce. People, should only be allowed to join the workforce from a certain age. Nobody from the age of one to the age of thirteen should be allowed to work. People from the age of thirteen, to the age of sixteen should only be allowed to work for only, say, four hours a day and sixteen to eighteen year olds can be allowed to work full-time which is eight hours. The state government should pass a law to this effect. Along the same lines, the law should also stipulate a mandatory requirement for all parents to register their wards in school. Failure to do so should attract penalties like fines and jail time. At this juncture, all the igbo states should have instituted a free education system from kindergarten to secondary level. I don't agree with free education at the university level because the states just can't afford it.

Now, before the GRADUAL phase out of the INFORMAL sector, certain things needs to be accomplished for it not to cause pain and hardship on people trying to make a living in any way possible. Some certain wealthy igbo business people that currently have business operations with very very positive cash flow, should be invited to build the massive infrastructure that will be needed to accommodate street traders. There have to be a REVOLUTION in the way that housing infrastructure is built. Usually, in developed countries, only real estate companies are involved in the construction of residential and commercial buildings, in collaboration with the city and state governments. Most of their constructions are MIXED USED developments. Mixed used, in construction parlance simply means private and commercial. So when these real estate companies build residential properties, they also build commercial ones. The commercial buildings are built on the major boulevard of the estate, while the residentials are built behind them. Real estate developers understand the dynamics of the occupancy rates, that allows them to continuously break new grounds for new estates, when a certain occupancy level have been reached. So, in developed countries, there's never any street trading because there are letable shops for anybody interested in plying their trade. Trading on the streets and sidewalks are not allowed.

Moreover, we can't continuously use poverty as an escuse to not advance our CIVILIZATION which is stuck in the 20th CENTURY. Other countries of the world have FIGURED out how to live better than what's obtainable in aba for example. When okada people were rampant, people believed that bad things will happen if they were BANNED. Same thing is happening with keke. Like I said, we should endeavor by all means possible, to get away from okada and keke civilisation, if not, we will end the way of India, a country where 300 million people are shiiting on top of 1 billion people.

On a good note, the igbos are excelling in all spheres here in the US. Last year, about six igbos were drafted to play in the national football league, NFL. I think, another four was drafted to play in the national basketball association the same year. The igbos by a mile has the largest contingent of non indegenious Americans playing in the NBA and NFL. The early pioneers in this regards are obed ariri, igwebuike, christian okoye nicknamed by the media here "THE NIGERIAN NIGHTMARE". This year again, another six were drafted. Join me in congratulating them and pray that the make the active and final roster that will allow them to play during the regular season. Their names are

UCHENNA NWOSU
DERRICK NNADI
CHUKS OKOROAFOR
JOEL IYIEGBUNIWE
OGBONNIA OKORONKWO
DUKE EJIOFOR

This is VERY VERY remarkable. Just found out one additional igbo guy that was drafted by Tampa Bay buccaneers. Even though his name was not called during the draft, GODWIN IGWEBUIKE got a phone call by the buccaneers to join the team. This makes it a grand total of 7 igbos drafted to the NFL in 2018. Once again, congratulations to mr GODWIN IGWEBUIKE.

Abagworo, what has Rochas done to the people of Ngor-Okpala lga. This place is an eyesore for any living being to stay in.

Anyone close to the governor should inform him to come to the aid of this people. The place is soo dilapidated.

This is Okpala secondary school, Ngor-Okpala. Imo state.