From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Imo State Chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), Ifeanyi Okponwa-Eze, has admonished state Governor Hope Uzodinma not to set the state on fire over the raging battle of supremacy between him those he considers his political enemies.
Ex-Imo governor Senator Rochas Okorocha and his supporters had clashed with the supporters of Governor Hope Uzodinma over the state government’s sealing of the Royal Spring Palm Hotel and Appartments owned by the senator’s wife.
Okponwa-Eze on Tuesday in Owerri, the Imo state capital, urged Governor Uzodinma to calm the rising tensions.
The AA chairman said that the state requires good governance and a guarantee of the welfare of the people and not unnecessary shows of force.
He urged the governor to channel his political energies into delivering good governance to the people of the state.
‘Imo people will be happy to see the roads tarred, it will be gratifying to workers and pensioners to receive their salaries and pensions, than watching the governor displaying his power in a political fight, while they languish in pain and penury,’ he stated
Okponwa-Eze said that Uzodinma has failed to acquit himself creditably in his one year in office.
He said the governor neither delivered in payment of salaries and pensions nor provision of infrastructure in the last one year in office.
The chairman frowned that World Bank projects in the state have been abandoned owing to the unjustifiable removal of the World Bank Project Coordinator in the state by the state government for political reasons.
He made reference to the Urualla gully erosion project in which the short-lived Emeka Ihedioha administration paid the sum of N500 million as counterpart fund, which he said has been abandoned by the current administration.
The AA Chairman raised concerns that the people of Urualla may be sacked from their homes if the rains return without the project being completed.
He wondered how a responsible leader would abandon such vital projects, thereby placing people’s lives in danger just for political parochial interest.
‘Why should such projects be abandoned just because you don’t like the person in charge. The moment the rains come, the people will suffer the consequences and yet you engage all the energy in waging political wars with little or no benefit to offer the people. Governor Hope Uzodinma should take up the challenge of delivering good governance to the people of Imo and spare them the too many wars,’ he stated.