As Uzodimma’s Second Term Beckons

Today, January 15, 2024, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, CON – Chairman, Progressives Governor’s Forum, Chairman, South East Governor’s Forum and Governor-General of South East (apology to APC Deputy National Chairman, South, Chief Emma Enekwu) – will be sworn in for a second term of another four years as Governor of Imo State.

His first tenure of four years ended yesterday, January 14, 2024.

The first time Uzodimma was sworn in as Governor was on January 15, 2020, a day after the Supreme Court ruled that he was the validly elected candidate in the 2019 Imo State governorship election despite the political shenanigans, mumbo jumbo and abracadabra that led to his being denied his rightful place ab initio.

A lot had been said on the rigorous and painstaking court processes from the Tribunal to the Supreme Court where the Justices returned his stolen electoral mandate to him, to the joy of many Imo people. So, we won’t waste our time on what is already public knowledge.

Our concern today is purely to evaluate some of Uzodimma’s superlative performances in his first four years in order to let us into what greater benefits await the good people of Imo as the journey for his second term in office commences.

Uzodimma’s 3-Rs Shared Prosperity Government anchored on Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery is not just a slogan. It is a well conceived idea to cater to the immediate, medium and long term basic needs of Imolites who suffered mismanagement over the years in the hands of leaders, and wrecked and left without direction, as Uzodimma discovered on January 15, 2020 when he assumed office.

Uzodimma’s giant strides during his first four years are seen everywhere, depending on where one is standing.

However, as another term beckons today, what perceptive minds see loading is a consolidation of the foundation the Governor laid four years ago in all the sectors of the state’s economy.

There is no way anyone cannot see Uzodimma’s legacies in the past four years.

They are there, even for the blind to behold, including civil service reforms, education, commerce and industry, information, health, transportation, finance, budget and planning, environment, mines, solid minerals and petroleum, power, revenue generation, human capital development and youth empowerment, agriculture, industrial policy, digital economy/e-government, roads infrastructure, housing, lands and survey, tourism, culture and creative arts, labour, women affairs, justice, security, sports development, relationship with the other arms of government; among others.

In all these areas, Uzodimma has created legacies of something to cheer and Imo people are grateful.

His superlative performance in the past four years was the reason they massively voted for his reelection on November 11, 2023, such that the Governor won in all the 27 local government areas of the state, a feat no democratically elected Governor, living or dead, has achieved.

In four years, Imo under Uzodimma witnessed a phenomenal economic leap and it is worth mentioning what the economic score card looks like as he takes another oath of office today.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the World Bank show that under Uzodimma’s watch, Imo State emerges the fourth biggest economy in Nigeria with the following metrics:

● A Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of N7.658 trillion

● The 11th best place for business and investments in Nigeria

● An Ease of Doing Business ranking of 11/36 states and the Federal Capital Territory

● The highest density of hospitality industry in Nigeria

● The largest palm oil plantation in West Africa

● The biggest natural gas reserve in West Africa

● The state’s real estate, especially the Owerri Metropolis Land and Properties, became one of the most sought after in terms of high return on investments in Nigeria.

● Imo was rated the toast of the South East and South South states, and the investment destination for the Diaspora, as well as the entertainment hub, leisure and tourism capital of Nigeria.

Uzodimma does not believe that routine payment of salaries of civil servants and pension to retirees should be the yardstick to measure a government’s performance.

He introduced reforms in the civil service that took into consideration, the seamless payment of salaries and pensions via an automated payroll system; free bus shuttle; free medicals, including health insurance scheme; official vehicles for Permanent Secretaries; capacity training/retraining of workers; elevation of workers whose promotions were stagnated for more than 12 years and the introduction of the 13th month salary, the first time in the history of Imo State, et al.

His foray into road infrastructure, including junction renewals and beautification, did not just stop with the signature roads of Owerri-Orlu; Owerri-Okigwe; Owerri- Mbaise-Obowo-Umuahia; Oguta-Mgbidi-Omuma-Akata-Opkoro Orlu Road, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport to Owerri-Aba Road, MCC-Toronto-Road Safety road, and others which were commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari, his Vice Yemi Osinbajo, and then Senate President, Ahmed Lawal, among other top government functionaries.

Uzodimma also paid attention to inner city roads like: Dick Tiger Street; Concorde Boulevard junction by Port Harcourt Road; Muhammadu Buhari Drive (formerly Federal Secretariat Road); Fire Service junction improvement, Douglas Road to Naze junction; Government House junction improvement, Imo State University junction; Okporo-Omuma Road; Stadium Road, Okigwe;

Oparanozie-Edede-Amaigbo Street; Umuahia Street; Lake Nwaebere Stree; Olokoro Street; Okeikpe Street; Arugo Street; Egbema Street; Ngwa Street; JP Ajaelu Street; Thomas Moore Street; Gozie Nwachukwu Street; Archdeacon Dennis Road, Aladinma; Assumpta/Ibari Ogwa/ Port Harcourt Road; Dick Tiger Street; Golden Child Road; Egbema/Adapalm/Obosima Road; St. Joseph Catholic Church Road, Orlu; St. Mary’s Okigwe Roundabout, Okigwe; IMSUTH Road, Orlu; Chukwuma Nwoha Road; Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze Road (phase one); Akachi Road (Evan Enwerem Way); Relief Market Road; Ring Road Aladinma Housing Estate; Ring roads behind Concorde Hotel; Egbeada By-pass Road, among others.

Also, Links Hotel Road; Pius Nwoga Road; Hospital junction; Umuguma to High Court Road; Bank Road/Assumpta Avenue; Emmanuel College to Pastoral Centre; Imo Police Headquarters Road; Nekede Old Road Bridge; Amakohia Flyover Road; Bishops Court Roundabout; Ebere Links end of new Government House Road; Amakohia-Onitsha (DSS Road); Works Road by Bala Suya; Bank Road/Assumpta Avenue; Cherubim junction to Owerri Club Road; Ahiajoku Centre-Port Harcourt Road; Umezuruike-Warehouse Road; Ihitte Ogada-Awaka-Emekuku-Ekemmegbuoha; Old Road Nekede-Area H junction; Nwa­chukwu Orizu extension; Umuguma-Port Harcourt Road-Holy Rosary International College; Uchenna Bus stop; Ring Road in Irete, Umuguma Last Roundabout Road; Industrial Layout (Celestine Izunobi Crescent); Nwachukwu Orizu by World Bank Road; Holy Trinity-World Bank Road; Ejimkeonye Street, among others.

Uzodimma also tackled head-on the flooding in Owerri that was not just a recurring decimal, but made most landlords to abandon their property while their tenants relocated to other cities.

A novel flood control mechanism, a balloon-driven technology, was deployed by his government to deal decisively with flash floods and today, Owerri is completely rid of the menace.

The signature road projects did not stop the Governor from embarking on the construction of 135-kilometre local roads across the 27 local government areas of the state.

Uzodimma believes that linking urban roads that are critical corridors to the local government roads will provide synergy between Imo’s external and internal neighbours and help stimulate economic activities and social life in the state.

It was not all about roads in four years.

Uzodimma also built brand new edifices which include Executive Chambers, Banquet Hall, First Lady’s Office, Imo State House of Assembly Complex, General Hospitals in Omuma, Oguta and Ohaji/Egbema, court complexes in Owerri West and Oru East, markets, schools, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport night lighting facility, Air Force Base barracks, Naval Base, and more.

His relationship with the other arms of government is not only cordial, but fosters trust between the three arms of government in a way that the immeasurable benefits rob off on the people.

In the early days of Uzodimma’s administration when he discovered that Judges in Imo State did not have official vehicles, he quickly provided vehicles for all of them, extending same to Magistrates.

He restored seniority in the appointments of heads of units in the judiciary, a system that was bastardised before his assumption of office in 2020.

Uzodinmma cited 305 Health Centres in all the 305 electoral wards in Imo, which are being complemented with Mobile Clinics equipped with modern facilities and drugs and manned by professional healthcarers.

The primary purpose is to cater to the health needs of rural dwellers as healthcare delivery is key to socio-economic wellbeing of the people.

Three state-of-the-art General Hospitals in Omuma, Oguta and Ohaji Egbema that Uzodimma commissioned recently are to work in synergy with existing Teaching Hospitals – Imo State University Teaching Hospital and Federal University of Technology, Owerri Teaching Hospital – to serve the people well.

Today, all year round free medical mission, involving medical experts in the United States of America and other parts of Europe in conjunction with the Imo State government, has become routine. In the same vein, millions of Imolites are today benefiting from the free Imo State health insurance scheme, courtesy of Uzodimma.

When Coronavirus hit the world like a tsunami, Imo under Uzodimma, was one of the few states in Nigeria that managed the pandemic properly and recorded low deaths.

Despite global economic downturn, Uzodimma funds Imo’s six tertiary institutions – Imo State University, Owerri; University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, Ogboko; Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma and Ben Uwajimogu College of Education, Ihitte Uboma.

During the long strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which almost crippled the university system two years ago, no single lecturer in any of the above institutions was owed a dime by the Uzodimma administration.

His response to those who wonder how he performs the magic of funding many institutions is, “Where there is a will, there must be a way. We are investing in the future of our youths who will in turn sustain us and the state.”

Uzodimma has also invested hugely in primary and secondary schools to the extent that recently, he commissioned through the Imo State Universal Basic Education Board (IMSUBEB), the renovation and equipping of 305 primary and secondary schools in the political wards in Imo.

It is not just about renovating and equipping schools, he takes seriously the training and retraining of teachers.

His plan to employ about 10,000 teachers in the state’s teaching service is anchored on the fact that the new teachers will impart great knowledge to students using modern teaching techniques and competencies.

Another area Governor Uzodimma has left a big mark in the psyche of Imo people is in the empowerment of youths through the Digital Economy and E-Government Ministry.

Currently, about 100,000 youths have been trained and empowered with start-up kits and capital under the Skill-Up Imo programme and the Governor’s target is to take 300,000 youths or more out of unemployment by the end by the end of his second term.

“By empowering these youths, we are shielding them from crime, especially from the clutches of unscrupulous politicians who would want to use them to achieve their selfish and often nefarious aims.

“Government has spent more than N10 billion in this empowerment exercise. I would like to express my gratitude to the Central Bank of Nigeria and other development partners who have walked with us in this journey,” Uzodimma said.

Through his Shared Prosperity administration, Imo State, as shown in the 2024 Budget of Renewed Economic Growth, will vigorously pursue her 2024-2034 Development Plan and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework where all the socio-economic parameters that will define the scope of her development in the nearest, medium, or long term, gain traction.

This has become possible because of Uzodimma’s visionary, pragmatic and transformational leadership skills that are at play.

Uzodimma’s first four years in office produced huge benefits that are worth celebrating, such as reconstructed intercity and urban roads, recovery of Adapalm, recovery of Imo Standard Shoe Industry, restoration of the Ottamiri Water Scheme abandoned by previous administrations, rebuilding of the Imo State Secretariat and House of Assembly Complex, upgrade of Federal Medical Centre, Owerri to a Teaching Hospital for Federal University of Technology, Owerri, upgrade of Alvan Ikoku College of Education to Federal University of Education, recovery of Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, Ogboko, establishment of University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo, revival of Ben Uwajimogu College of Education, Ihitte Uboma, creation of Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma, revalidation of the accreditation of the College of Medicine, Imo State University and Schools of Nursing and Midwifery in Orlu and Aboh Mbaise, dredging of Oguta Lake/Orashi River to the Atlantic Ocean, et cetera.

Under Uzodimma, Imo received $30 million from a World Bank initiative – the State Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) – for accountability and transparency in fiscal budgetary processes.

The state has also keyed into the Hope Green Revolution, an acronym that would drive a money-spinning Imo Environment Laboratory and Waste Recycling initiative, under the Sustainable Trans-Environment International Foundation (STEI), to reduce green house gas emissions, among other development partnership initiatives on agribusiness involving the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Uzodimma’s love for law and order also played out in the past four years and brought to the fore his experience as an astute lawmaker. He initiated no fewer than 30 Executive Bills and signed them into laws after they were passed by the State House of Assembly.

The Bills include but not limited to: Imo State Revenue (Amendment) Law No.1 of 2020; Imo State

Administration of Criminal Justice Law No.2 of 2020; Imo State Waste Management Agency Law No.5 of 2020; Imo State Governor’s Pension and Privileges (Repeal) Law No.8 of 2020; Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law No.8 of 2021; Imo Security Organisation (IMSO) Law No.2 of 2021.

Governor Uzodimma’s second tenure will be used to consolidate on the gains of the past four years in security, peace, infrastructure, agriculture, transportation, youth and women empowerment, poverty alleviation, transparency and accountability in government, political inclusiveness codified in the Imo Charter of Equity, and many others as they affect all sectors of society.

He proclaimed that much in his 2024 New Year broadcast.

His emphasis on efficient and transparent administration with equity and justice as the banner says a lot about his second term mindset.

Also, the 2024 budget of N592 billion with N491 billion or 83 per cent earmarked for capital expenditure underpins Uzodimma’s intention to continue working assiduously to enhance the infrastructure development base of Imo and consequently, equitable sharing of prosperity to the people.

His words: “Working harder in the coming years, exceeding my previous efforts, will no doubt justify that confidence. In this respect, I am glad to announce that we are determined to beat our own records in governance.

“Already, the march towards the actualization of that vision has started with the 2024 budget, which I recently signed into law. Out of the budget of N592 billion, N491 billion or 83 percent is for capital expenditure, while N100 billion or 17 percent is for recurrent expenditure.

“The practical interpretation of the budget is that if we built 20 roads in 2023, we are going to build 40 in 2024. If we empowered 2,000 youths in 2023, 4,000 youths should take their turn in 2024.

“With this capital expenditure-centred budget, there shall be an avalanche of projects in Imo State in 2024. This harvest of projects will always be evenly and equitably sited in the 27 local government areas of our state.

“Now that the election, which I believe was the remote and immediate cause of the politically contrived insecurity in the state, has been won and lost, I plead with all and sundry to sheath their swords and work in harmony with my administration to deliver more democracy dividends to our people.

“I reiterate that my administration will be more inclusive and there will be enough room for all. Like I earlier said, we need a renewed love, a renewed hope, and renewed economic growth for our state so as to usher in peace and progress and prosperity for all.

“As outlined in the 2024 budget, Imo is going to witness a tremendous improvement in infrastructure and development in all facets of the state this year. I want Imo people to be rest assured that my performance in the second tenure, which begins in January 2024, will dwarf the achievements of my first tenure. Read my lips and hold me by my words.

“This is why my administration will not brook any form of corruption in the public sector. Every kobo belonging to Imo State must be deployed to work for Imo people. Public service must be seen as a call to work for the people and not an opportunity to loot their common patrimony. Public office holders under my watch must adhere to this simple protocol or be forced out.

“Let me use the opportunity of the new year to urge our religious and traditional rulers to continue to pray and work hard for the sustenance of peace in our state.

Those who feel aggrieved one way or another should embrace peace. We all need to work together for the interest of our state.

“This is a new dawn where the lines of division or politics shall remain blurred.

We are now on the threshold of history, working in concert for the development of our state and our people. Let us come together and work together as one people with one objective, which is to make Imo State better and greater. Let us not forget that this is our one and only state.”

“The only reason we have joined politics is to have the opportunity to serve our People,” Uzodimma will keeps saying.

Governor Uzodimma has always reiterated this promise and I doubt if he is prepared to renege on it.

To say that he would pay greater attention to the dredging of Oguta Lake/Orashi river to the Atlantic Ocean as well as the realisation of the approval for the establishment of an oil and gas Free Trade Zone for Imo State in his second term is to say the least.

He is aware that both projects are at the heart of the long awaited economic boom in Imo in particular and the South East in general, taking into consideration all the economic corridors and safety security nets in the zone.

More importantly, Uzodimma is aware that the projects, by implication, are the consummation of the shared prosperity lingo that the people have long bought into.

He has kept faith with the people of Imo State on the oath he took four years ago and one doubts if he will do anything to the contrary. Not even when he reminds whoever cares to listen about the covenant he had with God regarding his governorship.

The oath Uzodimma took before God before the one he took on January 15, 2020 remains germane even as he takes another oath today.

He said: “While I was praying to be the Governor of Imo State, I promised God that if He made me Governor I will use the position to work honestly for the good of the people. God has done his part by making me the Governor and it was now left to me to do my own part.

“I have not come to grab or steal your money. I have come to work for you instead. Consequently, I charge you to beam your searchlight on me and if you find that I took your property or money, you should immediately raise the alarm.”

Speaking at the Imo Stakeholders meeting on January 5, 2023, the fourth in the series, Uzodimma reminded the people again of his covenant with God regarding his governorship.

“It is almost three years since I made these profound declarations and assurances, the question I now ask you is: have I kept faith with my promises? Let me reiterate that those declarations and assurances of 2020 still subsist.

“They will continue to subsist for all the period of my governorship. I repeat, also, that if you find me reneging on these promises, you should not hesitate to raise the alarm.

“I can only add that by the grace of God Almighty who made me Governor, I will not fail Him or Imo people, who voted for me. I will continue to serve you to the utmost of my ability, in truth and the fear of God,” he pledged.

Love Uzodimma or hate him, what, perhaps, marks him out from the genre of leaders who superintended over the affairs of Imo State before him, is his passion for service based on open, transparent, credible, inclusive and accountable governance model.

That remains the magic wand with which he has built trust with the people, the government at all levels, the Church, the international community and the development partners. And that will continue to be his staying power in politics as long as his story continues beyond today’s swearing in for second term.

● Nwachuku is the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to Governor Uzodimma