The Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, on Thursday, accused his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha of crippling the state through “massive looting.”

Ihedioha alleged that Okorocha looted the state’s purse and left it in a “deep hole of corruption and mindless misappropriation.”

Addressing Imo State stakeholders in Owerri, the Governor insisted that his predecessor’s eight years plunged the state into unsustainable debt.

He said: “Our interim findings show a consistent pattern of massive looting and stripping of public assets, dismantling and carting away of public property such as electric poles, vehicles, trucks, office equipment and furniture etc.

“There were last-minute illegal sales of government property at giveaway prices and unlawful allocation of land including backdating of Certificates of Occupancy.”

The governor stated that the state was faced with over N100 billion naira debt with “nothing to show for it.”

Disclosing that the state government has received over 30 billion Naira worth of Garnishee Orders from contractors, the Imo State governor said the contracts were fraudulently awarded by Okorocha’s government.

“I must inform you in this regard that, so far we have received over 30 billion Naira worth of Garnishee Orders arising from several ill-conceived and fraudulent contractual agreements deliberately consummated by the past administration, to destroy the future of the State and its teeming population by fettering the State in a humongous debt trap,” Ihedioha said.

(DP)