Onwuemeodo, who served Rochas Okorocha as Chief Press Secretary between 2013 and 2019 is currently the ex-governor’s Special Adviser on Media.
Onwuemeodo, who spoke with The Punch in Owerri on Thursday, said the Governor Hope Uzodinma-led administration was “politically victimizing him”.
He said that the only reason his building was marked for demolition was because he “is associated with Okorocha politically”.
He said, “They have marked the house where I have been living with my family for demolition. As of now, nobody has told me the reason for marking my house for demolition.
“On Friday, March 19, 2021, someone called and told me to be very careful, that the government has decided to demolish my house. That by Tuesday, March 23, 2021, my house would be marked for demolition. And to avoid making it look personal, they would also mark other houses around my own.
“Following this information, on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, I decided not to leave the house early. By 11.22 am, two Hummer buses with tinted glasses came and parked in front of my gate. I decided only to watch them. The two buses were filled with young men I wouldn’t like to describe as thugs and about six hefty men in Mobile Police uniform, fully armed.
“In 2011, when Owelle Okorocha became governor, I applied again and in 2013, a land was approved for me and I paid all the necessary fees and my receipts are intact. In other words, the land was not donated or “dashed” to me. I applied to the Ministry of Lands as a bonafide citizen of the state.
“I got the allocation and paid the needed or demanded fees. I have been living in the house with my family. Let the governor or his government tell the world why he wants to demolish my house. But if it is because of my working relationship with Okorocha, they have lost it entirely.”
Reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Oguwike Nwachuku said, “This government is not interested in any political vendetta and has never been after anybody. On the contrary, the government will protect every citizen of the state who does the right thing in line with the rule of law.
“Those who deliberately build at places in violation of the Owerri master plan should not expect government to protect them or the people to clap for them.”
