relocation of imsu is not necessary for now, let Rochas concentrate on most pressing needs of the Imo People.

there is no wrong doing in relocating the school to ogboko
…the town is still part of the state and the university belongs to Imo state and not Owerri or any zone in particular.
what should bother you guys is for our governor to build a befitting university for the state instead of the elevated secondary school that we currently have

I’ve always said dat Owelle is being selfish & headstrong abt dis issue. I thought i risked my life 4 a man who is worth it,bt he disappointed us! Why relocate IMSU 2 Ogboko? If he had said its somewhere else,den he wont be guilty of tribalism! His predecessors had d opportunity 2 take IMSU 2 dia backyards bt they didnt. Is Owelle d wisest amongst them? Is he d only son of d soil of his land? What happens if he builds a new university infront of his house in Ogboko 4 Orlu people nd dia state? We knw he is jst like any oda politician,liar nd insincere! If he tries it,he has murdered his political career. ‘Etiwe aka n’obi egosi ndi mmuo ebe ndu di mmadu’ Anayo be careful

UNFOLDING intrigues on the controversy surrounding the proposed relocation of the Imo State University, appeared to be clandestine avenue for politicians to promote political aggrandizement than public interest which they purport to protect.
So many factors and sentiments may have been invoked to paint unimaginable picture of marginalization that is capable of creating bad blood and mischief whereby, one zone is pitched against others.
The proposed location of IMSU should not be an issue that should tear the State apart, thereby, distracting the widely-acclaimed developmental strides of Governor Rochas Okorocha’s government.
It ought to be clear to those making inflammable comments in the media, most of which were sponsored by politicians eyeing 2015 Imo Governorship that the location of the State University should be a contentious affair. The enabling law for the exercise needed to be presented to the State House of Assembly for debate and possible approval to provide the necessary instruments of relocation.
The State lawmakers who have the mandate of the 27 State Constituencies in Imo, need to critically study any bill in respect of it and ask questions where necessary.
It is by their convinction, considering the general good of the Imo people and the law establishing the Imo State University, that they could pass the Bill or not.
Comments outside these procedure tended to introduce sentiments just to enhance the political clout and ambition of invisible guber hopefuls for 2015.
The programme on the Hot FM, radio recently, where three speakers from the Owerri Zonal Youths Association may have been arranged to brutally express anger and disapproval against the proposed relocation of IMSU from Owerri zone to Orlu zone. Their comments lacked tact and diplomacy.
The Speakers were betrayed by sentiments and perhaps the spirit of their sponsors who were merely chasing shadow rather than substance. The abusive comments and name callings rather than objective look at the issue could worsen matters in the seeming face of ego and power management.
Taking full advantage of a radio to pour venom on the Governor of the State without any iota of reverence, showed the direction of the attackers.
What was intriguous was an event before the radio station’s celebrated programme tagged ‘Peoples Assembly’ where Senator Chris Anyanwu, the sole owner of the Hot FM radio had convened a meeting of Owerri zonal Stakeholders and vowed to stop the relocation of IMSU.
The ovation that followed her speech was unprecedented, as if her say had become the way. The three state lawmakers from the Owerri zone who are in the State House of Assembly, said to have been called out to know their role over the proposed relocation.
The gentle men standing like suspects were arraigned for treason, were said to have described the relocation issue as mere speculation, since as at the time of the town hall meeting, the Executive had not presented any Bill in respect of the issue assuring that they could only take a stand when it seeks legislative imput.
The explanation of the three lawmakers, could not be taken seriously as comments were said to be renting the sky, that structures have been springing up overnight at the proposed site, awaiting the relocation.
At the end, there was nomination of notable leaders from the Owerri zone, who would confront the Governor on his plans to relocate the IMSU, and the delegation would be led by Chief E.C. Iwuanyanwu, who incidentally was the Chairman of the Town hall meeting.
There were some costly comments made by one of the Speakers on the Hot FM radio programme where it was alleged that the lawmakers would freely allow the passage of a relocation Bill since the Governor had rendered the House impotent. Was it not gross insult?
To Senator Anyanwu, who secured APGA platform on platters, to enable her return to the Senate to impulsively convened Town hall meeting of the Owerri zone most of who are PDP Chieftains, was a demonstration of lack of working relationship and mistrust on a government she ought to have been part of.
Irrespective of the quantum of speculations as the three lawmakers asserted, the APGA elected Senator owes it a duty to seek audience with her Governor to ascertain the veracity of the gossip as part of her fact-finding efforts.
It would have been after such visit that the Senator will be in a better position to alert fellow stakeholders in the zone, giving that she does not want to complain at higher quarters.
Convening town hall meeting without exploring the necessary avenues as members of one political party who must have worked as a family during electioneering campaign depicted hidden animosity and perhaps, the Senator has axe to grind with the Governor who may be unaware of that.
The manner and urgency with which the meeting was convened without any home work, suggested that the Senator may have been laying siege against the Governor and felt that the IMSU saga was the opportunity to strike.
One sees the Senator losing the battle, which at the end could only remain a burden if what she calculated to achieve fails to materialize.
Discussing the Imo State University, which was established by the Mbakwe regime in 1981, when it was the old Imo State, his concept was for a multi-campus arrangement which really did not satisfy such vision probably because of cost implications. No doubt, there could be drawing board proposals that were not actualized.
Since the creation of Imo in 1976, Owerri has remained the Capital City, without the IMSU sited at Owerri by Mbakwe, as he sited the University at Madona High School Etiti in the Okigwe zone, which was his zone as the then Governor.
There was no eyebrow raised as to why the University was not sited at the State Capital Owerri or anywhere closer. There were stories that the same Mbakwe regime ear-marked future proposed site at the Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala which are the two sister LGAs where the Imo airport is sited, yet the Airport belongs to the entire Imo (former and present).
Therefore, if these two LGAs hosting the Airport are by any administrative policy review denied as the future site of IMSU, they would not have much to cry about.
At the intervention of the military which saw Ike Nwachukwu as the Military Governor, the University was finally relocated from Etiti temporary site to Uturu when it was part of Okigwe zone where both Mbakwe and Nwachukwu belong. The only difference was that Uturu was confirmed permanent site and remained irrevocable.
There was no agitation of any sort against the Uturu site until the creation of Abia State which excised Uturu out of the present Imo and grouped it to Abia, alongside with the University.
However, when the Late Senator Evan Enwerem became the pioneer Civilian Governor of Imo State, he discovered that the licence establishing the IMSU read Imo State, he retrieved the licence from the Nigerian University Commission as he fought in vain to return the Institution back to Imo.
Abia State had no option than to seek for new licence for the Abia State University, Uturu.
The Imo State University was thus, returned in paper without structures, making the State Government to dramatically site the University at Lake Nwaebere where the FUTO was temporarily occupying. Because it was federal, it has to be relocated to Ihiagwa as permanent site.
Imo, which has no available funds to embark on University project temporarily sited the IMSU at the structures used by FUTO, even though the land was originally the property of the Federal Girls Secondary School.
The implication was that IMSU is a tenant on the site and must eventually leave the site one day.
The NUC, was said to have written the Imo State Government to provide permanent site for the State University or it could run the risk of being closed down.
It is noteworthy, that the IMSU which Enwerem retrieved its licence from Abia, never returned back as the original multi-campus, as both Imo and Abia run their respective State Universities on entirely, new concept of Mono-Campus University.
Giving that two sites were proposed at Ogbaku and Ngor-Okpala/Mbaise, none, has been physically developed by any of the past administrations neither has any skeletal development been done there. There is no doubt, that if any of the sites had been developed, the government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha would not have thought of a third site.
Like his governorship which came against odds, the Governor perhaps could not find any commitment of his predecessor on ground to justify the movement to a virgin land, and perhaps, because of the protocol and bureaucracy that will ensure the idea of new site came into his mind and in order to beat the NUC’s directive the Orlu site where the people promised communal efforts to raise the needed infrastructure, was favoured.
Lands are not merely acquired by mere pronouncements, without any physical presence or commitment as was in the case of the proposed IMSU sites at Ogbaku and Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala.
It has become a case of a “stitch in time saving nine” if before the expiration of the NUC’s deadline, there is no ready site to relocate IMSU, it could either be closed down as threatened or go into another temporary site. But if before the deadline, structures that could host a University spring up miraculously the problem would have been solved.
There was even fears and suspicion by some agitators, that if the IMSU was allowed to be located at Orlu, the State may lose the University in the wake of an Orlu State. This fear is far fetched as what happened between Abia and Imo has become a case study where the State which the Institution is registered in her name becomes the custodian of the licence and could easily retrieved it to quickly establish own University, while the new State seeks for its own licence.
The University has no option than to be there, so that it could be saved from closure.
Since there was no known law stating that a State University must be sited at the State Capital or the zone of the Capital city, Imo University owned by the entire State could be anywhere.
The idea of siting a University at the heart of the Capital City has multiplier effect. It is insecurity-inherent. In the event of any crisis, especially students riot, the student usually have open confrontation with security agents which occasionally leads to loss of life, and damages to public property.
Socially, the nearness of such higher Institution in the heart of the city promotes crime, prostitution and unnecessarily increasing house rents coupled with the distractions caused by the urban environment.
But relocating the School to remote area out of the reach of the Capital city affords the students the serene environment for learning. Any student at such distant site who could not fit in, implies that he or she does not come for studies but something else.
Therefore, Owelle Rochas should be spared of the attack for proposing to relocate the IMSU to the Orlu zone, not because he wants to join the league of Governors who relocated higher institutions to their area, but perhaps based on the fact that he is as one who has penchant for education.
Considering his boundless developmental strides in all the zones of the State simultaneously, Imo could afford the Governor to have his way on this single project.
Owelle Rochas Okorocha deserves to be honoured while he lives for his vision and efforts to make Imo better.
culled from announcer express newspaper

Governor Rochas can easily start a fresh construction of another campus at Ogboko and leave Imo State University at Owerri, the capital city of Imo State. The propensity for another governor to relocate it to another location is very high. With the State resources at his finger tips, he could build as many as ten campuses at his home, his maternal and grand maternal homes. It is true that other governors had attempted to relocate IMSU, but failed; it is an indication that Ndi Nche Imo found Owerri very suitable to host a State University.

“I pledge to my state and my country to follow its rules and regulations”.
It will be an unfair approach that the govt of Imo State will be denigrated but it’ll be a fair one when it’s democratic.He who says that he’s not understanding why ppl are clamouring againist the relocation of Imo State University,is a sentimental human who’s only living up with the hopes of “sweet pitch” which are the normal artistary of all politicians to get and win over the hearts of the ppl.
That Orlu needs a tertiary institution doesn’t prompt the relocation of the Imo State University.The govt of Imo state,seeing it need be for a university to be built in Orlu,can raise up another state owned licenced structure which will serve as another university for the state not minding the location.
One may say that it’s not good for the school to be sited where there’s a bee hive of activities;but the person shld remember that the high esteemed higher institutions in Nigeria,are situated in there state capital where there’s a add hive of activities.
Let’s see in the aspect of Orlu,looking for a state of there own.Reasons are there showing that Orlu has been looking for a means to have there own state and they’ve been working tiresomely on it.Let’s take for example,the stadium built at Orlu.Information says that the fund used for the building of that stadium was supposed for the upgrading of the state’s stadium(which can make Imo state stadium one of the locations for playing international tournaments)but it was diverted towards erecting one at orlu.Another example is about the same relocation of the school by the past govt which failed.You shld know that for a state to be,it will have things like;a higher institution for learning,a stadium and many other things which Orlu has been clamouring on.
The university’s relocation is that of selfish reasons.There’s none that will see the situation at hand and will not rest to that.
The university supposed to be upgraded,renovated and equipped to serve its purpose well.
The school shld be left alone and let the state face weighties matters.
I write in the pledge to the state.