Description
The Owerri Capital Development Authority, OCDA, on Friday, July 2 sealed off Reach 104.9FM Owerri, a radio station belonging to a former of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha.
The sealing took place at about 12:00noon when staffers of the development-controlling agency stormed the station.
The invasion automatically yanked the station off the air.
One of the staffers of the radio channel, Mrs. Lilian Duru-Valentine in a live video as the sealing was on cried out; “OCDA staff are here, they are beating Reach FM staffers”.
The video showed people being hounded out of the station and struggling with one another while others were screaming on top of their voices.
Spokesman of the former governor, Sam Onwuemeodo wondered the reason for the sealing of the radio channel.
He blamed it on the perceived animosity which the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma harbours for his predecessor.
Onwuemeodo wondered why anybody would be requesting for an approved plan of the building housing the radio station many years after it was acquired from its original owner.
According to him, the building was acquired by Senator Okorocha more than two decades ago.
The spokesman warned against the clampdown on Senator Okorocha by the Uzodimma administration, saying that government should allow Imo citizens to enjoy a moment of respite after the insecurity the state was embroiled in.
When contacted, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba said the sealing arose from the station ignoring the request to show a building approval letter from the OCDA.
Emelumba said; “They don’t have building approval. They were asked to show it if they have or come for regularization but they kept ignoring it. That is the much I know of the issue.”
The General Manager of OCDA, Mr Innocent Ikpamezie ignored calls and text messages forwarded to him.
See below links to videos
Details
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Date of Occurrence
2021-07-02
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State/Country
Imo, Nigeria
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Perpetrator
The Owerri Capital Development Authority, OCDA
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Source
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