The outgoing Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, will visit Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Thursday as a guest of the foundation.
The Director General of Rochas Okorocha Foundation, Uloma Nwosu, who stated this, Wednesday, said Johnson-Sirleaf was invited because she shared in the foundation’s ideal to focus attention on the plight of the homeless, orphaned, abandoned, abused and indigent African children.
Nwosu stated that Johnson-Sirleaf would, among other activities, pay a visit to the Rochas Foundation College of Africa during which she would interact with five Liberian children who are part of the pioneer students of the school.
The five children were part of the 275 children drawn from 55 countries in Africa and who have since resumed as pioneer students of the college in a bold move targeted at rescuing one million children off the streets by 2030.
Nwosu explained that the 275 children in the college based in Owerri were different from over 15,000 others in the five Rochas Foundation Schools spread across Nigeria which had produced over 4,000 graduates.
She added that Johnson-Sirleaf would be conferred with the 2017 Imo Merit Award for her role in curbing the Ebola plague as well as attending to the needs and plight of millions of Liberian children.
The Director General expressed the hope that the visit would help in fostering unity, peace, and social integration on the continent.
Imo Gov. Okorocha to unveil Johnson-Sirleaf’s statue
Recalled that barely a week after the governor unveiled the statue of South African President Jacob Zuma, sparking acrimonious debate, he also displayed Johnson-Sirleaf statue on his twitter handle: @GovernorRochas, saying that the Liberian leader would be honoured during her visit to Imo on Nov. 9.
“The Liberia President, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is set to arrive our dear Imo State for a two-day working visit on Thursday, 9 Nov. 2017,” Okorocha twitted.
The critics had continue to accuse the governor of spending huge money on `meaningless projects in a state that had not been able to pay workers and pensioners as and when due’.
The critics also cited various corruption cases linked to Zuma and the recurring killing of Nigerians in the former apartheid enclave, arguing that giving such honour to Zuma was wrong.
They wondered why Okorocha would choose to honour Zuma, ignoring South African anti-apartheid icons, including Nelson Mandela, Oliver Thambo and Walter Sisulu.