Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, says he owes nobody any apology for erecting a statue of South African Republic President Jacob Zuma, in the state.
Okorocha had, on Sunday, October 15, 2017, unveiled a giant-sized Zuma statue, but his action was immediately greeted with widespread condemnation.
Some critics accused him of frivolity.
However, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, on Wednesday, Okorocha said the gesture was to honour and appreciate Zuma, whose visit was “principally to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Jacob Zuma Education Foundation and Rochas Foundation College of Africa.”
The governor also said he is ready to erect more structures, if that is what it would take to bring investments to the state.
“And, in case these “Galatians” do not know, if all we need to do to attract good things or investments to Imo state is erecting statues, then, we have no option than to erect as many of such structures as possible.
“We owe no one apology. Rochas made a promise to open the doors of Imo to the rest of the world for good, and he is doing that and we cannot be deterred by these enemies of our people.
“If it were in the days of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), schools and markets would have been shut down, and roads closed because president Zuma was coming. But, none of such things was done because Rochas and his government have human faces.
“The PDP, for the 12 years it held sway, never attracted any meaningful visitor to the state, except PDP NEC members, who came to loot the state.”
