Governor Hope Uzodimma on Friday hinted that his government is set to recruit 10000 teachers for the primary and secondary schools in Imo State.
Also, three brand new General Hospitals located in the oil producing area of Imo State – Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Oru East- will be commissioned next week while 19 others across the State have been slated for upgrade.
Governor Uzodimma dropped the hint during an Interactive Session with Imo State Elders Council at the Rockview Hotel Owerri.
The elders had invited the Governor to brief them on the state of the State.
The governor commended the Elders for working tirelessly to see that Imo retains its original identity of providing direction and thanked them for their commitment to the progress and development of Imo State.
The Governor reminded the Elders that the reason for the establishment of the Council which is backed by law of Imo State House of Assembly “is to ensure that we have checks and balances in governance so that whoever is in authority will know that people are watching him.”
Informing the Elders of his modest achievements in the past 40 months in office, Sector by Sector, the Governor recalled the strides he made in Civil Service, in road infrastructure, health, education, maritime and other critical areas.
In Education, the Governor announced that he has just approved the recruitment and training of 10,000 Primary and Secondary School Teachers who will be trained before deployment.
He added that “the Teachers will be recruited within their locality and posted to schools in their areas so that the Community Leaders, the Traditional Rulers and the Town Union Presidents will hold them accountable and ask questions when they are found culpable of not going to work while they are taking salaries.”
On the Health Sector; in addition to the rehabilitation and upgrade of the existing 19 General Hospitals in the State, the Governor told the Elders that the 13 percent Derivation fund coming to oil communities that have never been accounted for by the past administrations is now being used to provide quality healthcare to the people.
To this end, Governor Uzodimma said: “Already three brand new General hospitals fully equipped with modern hospital equipment have been built and completed in the three Local Governments of Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Oru East that make up the Oil producing Local Governments in Imo State.”
Still on the health sector, the Governor said that his government has concluded arrangements to acquire two MRI equipment for Imo State Teaching Hospital Orlu and Umuguma Specialist Hospital which he emphasized “needs upgrade to meet up with the demands of Imo people presently.”
On maritime, he informed that the dredging of Oguta to the Atlantic Ocean is beyond the economic, trade and Industry, but is “the best way of recognizing and drawing the Federal Government’s attention to the South East.”
Regarding Housing, he announced that his government has developed a blue print on housing estates which will be used to determine appropriate area of sighting housing facilities in Imo State.
The Governor told the Elders that he embarked on massive road infrastructure when he noticed that all the roads in Imo State were dead traps and that a lot of frustrations were written in the faces of Imo people, especially the regular road users who today are happy and are bringing in positive reports.
He urged the Elders to take ownership of the roads and other infrastructure because they are there for their use and that of their Community members, urging them community leaders to help in the maintenance and protection of the facilities from vandalism by criminals.
He recalled how his administration has recovered IMSUTH and restored lost accreditations, saying today, “IMSUTH has joined the big league,” of which himself as Governor is proud of it.
Governor Uzodimma recalled his achievements in the area of youth empowerment by making them create opportunities for themselves through wealth creation saying that “so far over 50,000 have been trained and equipped.”
He urged the Elders to speak out against the evil doers in the State and to tell them to desist forthwith from such and embarrass peace, noting that his government has applied both kinetic and non-kinetic forces to degrade the efforts of the evil men.
On the part of the government, the governor promised that they shall try to do their best to ensure protection of lives and property and pledged to remain committed in serving with honesty and sincerity.
He thanked them on the Charter of Equity which he noted will allow for peaceful transition and handover of government from zone to the other.
Reiterating his earlier promise of open and transparent administration, the Governor said that the books and receipts of his administrations are available for scrutiny and challenged anyone who has anything contrary to come up and report.
He assured Imo people and particularly the Elders that Imo is safe and secured in his hands.
Responding to the numerous requests by some of the elders the Governor noted that his government cannot solve the problems of Imo State in one day but will continue to do her best.
He acknowledged the need for a finishing school (Imo Academy) as suggested by Prof Maurice Iwu and noted that his government had already written that the new Federal Medical Centre coming to Imo State be located in Okigwe zone in addition to the proposed relocation of the Faculty of Engineering of the Imo State University to Okigwe.
On the area of sports, he informed that Dan Anyiam Stadium is nearing completion and that Imo people should visit the stadium to consummate a brand new central Gym acquired from Holland that is already installed there.
He maintained that Imo State needs creative thinkers and a lot of ideas and asked the Elders to show more sincerity and commitment.
In their separate reactions, Members of the Elders Council commended the efforts of the Governor towards the development of Imo State which they acknowledged have surpassed their expectations.
Prof. Maurice Iwu advised that a new Imo should be all embracing and acknowledged that the massive road infrastructure has moved Imo State away from heterogenous society to homogenous society. He also commended the Governor on his achievements in security.
While Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe thanked the governor for honouring his family by naming the KO Mbadiwe University after their father, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu commended the Governor and expressed his delight on the dredging Oguta Lake to the Atlantic Ocean and described the Governor as a thorough democrat.
Archbishop David Onuoha commended the Governor on the sponsorship of 1,000 pilgrims to the holy land and described him as an ecumenical. He requested all Igbo people to support the Governor.
Justice Ben Njemanze (Rtd.) thanked the Governor for making the judiciary comfortable and pleaded for more attention to the development of sports.
Chief Jerry Chukwueke commended the efforts of the Governor in all areas and appealed to Imo people to key into the Social Security Registration and the Social Trust Fund exercises which are ongoing and requires them to register with only their PVCs.
A former Governor of Imo State, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim and an Elder statesman, Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu said Governor Uzodimma has courage and intellect and that they are proud of him.
Ohakim requested that the address of the Governor to the Council be put in a booklet form circulated, agreeing with Archbishop Onuoha that more efforts be made to get Imo people in the rural areas to be properly abreast of the activities of the Governor.
He called on Imo people to join hands to ensure the success of the 3R government, urging the Elders to go home and hold community meetings where they can tell their people of the achievements of Governor Uzodimma.
Ohakim also urged those running for governorship with Uzodimma not to waste their resources, saying they stand no chance of beating him based on his verifiable achievements.