By Collins Ughalaa

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, declared Senator Hope Uzodimma the duly elected governor of Imo State. Uzodimma had gone through a tortuous judicial journey to reclaim his stolen mandate. Votes from 388 polling units belonging to him had been unlawfully excluded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), leading to the wrongful declaration of Emeka Ihedioha as governor. It was, therefore, soothing that victory came his way at last when the Supreme Court declared him winner of the governorship election of Saturday, March 9, 2019, and ordered that he be sworn in immediately.

In keeping with the order of the Supreme Court, Uzodimma was sworn in on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at the Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square (RANKS) amid wild jubilation from Imo people and all lovers of justice. In his address on the occasion, Uzodimma promised that he would run a shared prosperity government anchored on ‘3Rs’ of Recovery, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. He also promised to run an open-door policy, accountable and transparent government, where the “common will of the people” is cardinal and “equity, justice, freedom and the rule of law prevail over impunity and executive recklessness.” He added: “We must ensure prosperity for everyone, putting in place economic prosperity, accountability and justice. Every Imo person shall have a say in my government.”

With these lofty promises, Governor Hope Uzodimma covenanted himself to serving Imo people. But with no functional governance structures and no sector of the economy working by the time Uzodimma became governor, poverty and chaos were, therefore, expected. The governor was, therefore, right when he told leaders of Imo State during the seventh stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, January 5, 2023, that, by the time he was sworn in, the state was a mess.

“As you all know, the Imo State we inherited in [January] 2020 was a mass of mess. The structures and institutions on the ground were not too different from those you find in a failed state,” said the governor.

All aspects of the state were bleeding. There were no functional Government House and Lodge. The Imo State House of Assembly was dilapidated, forcing the House to relocate to a makeshift apartment. The state secretariat was also left to dilapidate, with workers’ morale at an all-time low, as salaries and pensions were unconscionably owed. The state judiciary bled from unnecessary pressure, interference and neglect from the executive. Worse still, he inherited a public service sector that was riddled with corruption and fraud. The amount of Imo State money that was siphoned through a public sector corruption-riddled payroll system was simply mind-blowing. It was, to say the least, incredible.

By January 15, 2020, one could say that there was no road in Imo. In fact, the priority of Ndi Imo at the time was road. The people just wanted a governor that would construct roads, as the level of infrastructural decay in the state required the declaration of a state of emergency. Roads in Owerri and elsewhere in Imo had become deathtraps. The Port Harcourt Road was cut into two at the Control Post/Assumpta Avenue, the World Bank Road broke into two from the Control Post, the Yar’Adua Drive became a deathtrap, the Owerri-Orlu Road, measuring about 62km, became a nightmare; the over 59km Owerri-Okigwe Road, with the Ekemele axis, cut into two and abandoned for over a decade, Naze/Nekede/Ihiagwa/Obinze road was in a sorry state and abandoned for about 20 years. With floods ravaging several communities in Owerri, especially those around Chukwuma Nwaoha, Ihechiuwa, Dick Tiger, Works Layout, Akwakuma, Imo was actually in an intensive care unit.

By the time he assumed office, Uzodimma understood how backwards Imo State was. In his maiden address to Imo people on January 21, 2020, he noted that: “The situation (in Imo) was not helped by the sorry state of affairs I inherited. There was no handover note from the previous government to mine. This left me with no definite starting point. In addition, I inherited an empty treasury and a disillusioned, disoriented and dispirited civil service.”

Without the benefits of handover note and the traditional transition period, Uzodimma fastened his seatbelt and went to work. While he was still at work, it was as if some forces did not want him to succeed, as COVID-19 came with its attendant restrictions and lockdowns. While Imo State, like other states across the country, was still grappling with COVID-19, the whole country woke up to the #EndSARS protests in October 2020. Hardly had the ravages of the #EndSARS protests died down than Imo State was plunged into unprecedented security breaches sponsored by unscrupulous politicians that almost crippled the economy of the state.

With the dastardly attack on the custodial centre and the police command in Owerri on April 5, 2021, the attacks on the countryhomes of the governor, the late president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor, homes of prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the state was in for serious security challenges. But with faith in God and help of the security forces, the governor has been able to push back the bandits, restoring peace to Imo.

Despite these challenges, Uzodimma weathered the storm and continued delivering on his promise to Imo people.

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For instance, he has ensured that the budgeting process and government expenditure remain transparent and accountable. As part of measures to deepen accountability and transparency, the governor instituted the stakeholders’ meeting and annual phone-in interactive session as platforms to render account of his stewardship to Imo people. The governor’s accountability and transparency in running the affairs of the state have won the state international laurel as the state won a whopping $30 million grant from the World Bank for keying into the World Bank States’ Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme.

An overview of the governor’s performance would show that, truly, he has surpassed the expectations of many. As of today, the governor has done over 100 roads within three years, including the dualization of the Owerri-Orlu and Owerri-Okigwe highways. Work is ongoing on 135km roads across the 27 LGAs and others.

In the area of healthcare delivery, the governor has delivered. He was able to control and minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, secured approval from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to reopen various government-owned schools of nursing and midwifery in order to address the dearth of professionals in the sector, re-accreditation of Imo State University Teaching Hospital College of Medicine, leading to the graduation of three batches of medical students construction of 305 primary health centres (PHCs) across the 305 wards in the state, upgrading the Imo State University Teaching Hospital and equipping the Civil Service Staff Clinic and mobile clinics, among others.

The chaotic transportation system Imo was known for has disappeared in three years as the administration has resuscitated, recapitalized, and remodeled the Imo Transport Company, reintroduced the Imo State Traffic Management Authority (ISTMA), installed traffic lights and signage and built bus stops within Owerri metropolis. The Imo State Waterways Transport Services has also been resuscitated, and all illegal motorparks have been closed. The government also established biometric capture/fleeting/painting and routing of public transit vehicles to ensure safety of commuters, resolved the lingering gridlock on major roads and remodeled the roundabouts and junctions to ease flow of traffic.

The governor has repositioned the civil service for effective service delivery and boosted the morale of Imo workers by resolving the lingering salary, pension, and promotion quagmire the state was plunged into. He has provided the civil servants the tools and conducive environment they required to work, renovated the secretariat, provided 22 saloon cars for permanent secretaries, free mass transit scheme for workers, regular payment of workers’ salaries, pensions and free medical services for civil and public servants in the state.

The governor also eliminated ghost workers and pensioners, salary and pension padding, and finally automated the payment of salaries and pensions, harmonized government’s finances, and introduced the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The civil servants have been trained and retrained for optimum service delivery.

On Education, the governor has recovered the Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, Ideato, established the University of Agriculture and Natural Science, Umuagwo; established brand new Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma; achieved the accreditation of the Ben Uwajumogu College of Education, Ihitte-Uboma; building 305 schools across the 305 wards, reconstruction of secondary schools across the 27 LGAs, procured 17 containers of books for schools in the state, approved the construction of 89 new secondary schools, secured approval for the upgrading of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education to a University.

As we celebrate three years of shared prosperity in Imo on Sunday, January 15, 2023, it is importtant to look back to January 2020 when Senator Hope Uzodimma took over as governor and see the quantum leap Imo has recorded. Looking back, therefore, we can only agree with the governor that “the difference is clear; the state is not only working again but looking up indeed.” The governor has “made a big difference in all sectors; the civil service, infrastructure, automation of fiscal processes, attraction of federal presence, open, transparent, credible, inclusive and accountable government”.

As we celebrate, we can only say, to God be the glory.

•Collins Ughalaa is a journalist based in Owerri, Imo State.