By The Concerned Citizens
All roads lead to Owerri the capital of Imo State as His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma celebrates one-year anniversary as the Chief Executive of the State.
On 14 January 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a judgment that brought in Senator Hope Uzodinma into power as the Executive Governor of Imo State on 15 January 2020.
This judgment has become a reference point with all kind of appellations and descriptions of the Hope Uzodinma led-government.
One thing that must be considered though, is that the Supreme Court’s decision is final and that His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma would remain the Governor of Imo State notwithstanding, for the next three years (and even more as he has the constitutional right to contest for a second tenure) unless “impeached”.
This is especially so as it seems that the APC-Buhari-led federal government is the backbone of Hope Uzodinma therefore, it may be futile to fight him at this point in time.
Consequently, this one-year anniversary of His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma’s government is a good time for the people of Imo State to do a critical thinking of the State’s stability; which is a prerequisite to the promotion of socio-political and economic conditions of the peoples’ welfare.
This is not the time to antagonise the government. It is a time to support His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma even if one is in the opposition. It is a time to critique and spur his government to sit up should there be areas he has failed.
It is a time for the supporters of this government to give the people of Imo State the benefit of the doubt and ensure that trust is regained.
Those in positions of authority in Imo State must show to the people that they are neither for themselves nor for His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma but for the socio-political and economic growth of ndi Imo.
The governor on his part should be open and all embracing. He should reach out to ndi Imo as he is today the father of Imo State. A father in modern times should not be seen as being “partisan”.
The position His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma occupy is such that represents everyone including members of opposition parties and even “perceived outlaws”, therefore, he should ensure that he gains their trust because the future seems bright for him.
He can even negotiate with IPOB/ESN (is this not done elsewhere within Nigeria?) and bring succour to ndi Igbo in general. After all, it is thought that Mr. Governor is projected to be at the “Centre” in no distant time.
His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma has taken some giant strides over the past one year and even before becoming governor of Imo State. He has been called “the bastion of hope” since his assumption of office on January 15 2020 at a time the pandemic broke out starting with the willingness to work with the foundation laid by the ousted governor.
He adopted projects and policies of his predecessor not minding the fact that they are not from the same political party as he approved of all contracts asking contractors to get back to sites.
It did not end with contractors as he also retained and extended the duration of some judicial commissioners as well as adopting the pension verification exercise initiated by his predecessor. It is also said that he has been constant with the payment of salaries as at when due as well as other entitlements and incentives.
Only a few would do such in the Nigeria’s political space!
It is also noteworthy to state that His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma reformed the entire Civil Service both physically and otherwise as he rehabilitated the Secretariat, providing official vehicles for top officials and buses for others.
He also has addressed the road network systems which was in a sorry state when he assumed office. Accordingly, eight out of fifty-seven road projects embarked upon were completed and commissioned, while 25 of such are near the stage of completion; these include Okigwe-Owerri Road and Orlu-Owerri Road.
Uzodinma also launched into upgrading and equipping health centres and hospitals including building 4 Isolation Centres in the State to aid the fight against the corona-virus pandemic. Education is not left behind as he continued to build schools and classrooms at all levels in the sector.
The University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo was established within his first year in office and he has vowed to restore the glory of Imo State University. In addition, no fewer than 10, 000 youths have undergone various kinds of skill acquisition and empowerment under his watch. His impute is seen virtually in every sector in the State.
The governor has also been active in the fight against insecurity as he has been providing logistics to enhance security agencies in the State. However, it is said generally that he went overboard in inviting the Armed Forces of Nigeria recently to tackle members of IPOB/ESN.
Accordingly, he could have sought another means to resolve that issue as the Chief Security Officer of Imo State. This is especially so as peace and security is not achieved with the use of force alone as experience has shown in the North East Region of Nigeria; where insurgency hold sway despite the unleashing of military might by the Nigerian Government in the past 10 years.
There are several avenues by which he could achieve this and use his good offices to endear himself the more to the Federal Government, ndi Imo and ndi Igbo in general. Therefore, Mr. Governor should utilize this one-year anniversary celebrations as an opportunity to remedy the situation.
Another angle where His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma has scored a great point is in the fight to retrieve what he believes belongs to ndi Imo which were unfairly allocated and taken by past governments.
A reference point is the recent drive to retrieve properties that the administration of Senator Rochas Okorocha allocated to himself and his associates. Ndi Imo should be happy with the precedent being set by His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma because he is making himself available for probe in such manner should he fail to live up to expectation after his service to the State.
Going by the above, Mr. Governor should be reminded that it is the grass that suffers when two elephants fight. He should be careful not to be distracted notwithstanding his fight for ndi Imo so, the people should not suffer while he is trying to retrieve that which was stolen. Ndi Imo should know that Hope Uzodinma has come to stay!
Mr. Governor should not be hasty in using force to confront insecurity especially as regards ndi Igbo. He should rather harness the opportunity afforded him to ensure that the “oppression” and “marginalisation” felt by ndi Igbo is addressed by the Federal Government as this would spur him up the more.
He should also see to empowering the people especially the youths as this would assist in curtailing insecurity bearing in mind his oath of office in which he swore to protect the people and make Imo State a better place.
On their own, the youths should not make themselves easy tools in the hands of unscrupulous politicians destabilising their “today” and “future”. Ndi Imo should give peace a chance as it is obvious that His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma is the Hope ready to take Imo State to an enviable position among states in Nigeria bearing the sensitive position he occupies in APC.
It is in the air that the Governor’s one-year anniversary celebration is bringing President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and many others to Imo State.
Aso Rock Is Storming Imo State! Is this not an indicator of the political weight of His Excellency, the Governor of Imo State? Shouldn’t ndi Imo rally round this great man of history and make Imo State an enviable state?
As history beacons on the horizon, our searchlight is beamed on the Heartland State. WILL THE GOOD PEOPLE OF IMO STATE LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF REASON? WILL THE MAN OF THE MOMENT in the person of His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma eschew politics of bitterness and cease this opportunity to build the Imo of his dream?
The positive response of ndi Imo and that of His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma to this clarion call for peace, we strongly believe will serve as a catalyst for development so desired by the people. This would form the basis of our interaction in the next episode.
Sponsored by: The Concerned Citizens
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