Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, in this interview with select journalists in Lagos, spoke on how he has been able to transform the state through infrastructure.

During the session, the governor insisted that the rate of insecurity in Imo State was politically contrived by those who lost elections.

He said he adopted the kinetic and non-kinetic approach to tackle the rate of insecurity in the state.

He speaks on how he has been able to transform the state through infrastructure, reduce unemployment and increased the internally generated revenue of the state.

He also bare his mind on the proposed move by some opposition figures to form a coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections to oust the All Progressives Congress, APC, emergency rule in Rivers State and other sundry issues. Excerpts:

Can you tell us what Vanguard award on Infrastructure Governor of the year means to you and what you feel earned you the award?

I must start by thanking the Vanguard Newspapers for finding me fit to be honoured in the manner they did on Friday and christening the award as the Infrastructure Governor of the year. To be very candid, it did not come to me as a surprise because in 2020 when I came into Imo State as the governor, there was a total breakdown of both public infrastructure and critical private infrastructure. That led me to my three-r vision mantra of reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery and to also drive my political programme of shared prosperity. In Imo State, by 2020, all the major roads and side roads were impassable.

Government house was not habitable. The public secretariats were civil should work from were broken down. In fact, like those days of Chinua Achebe, it became a typical example of things falling apart and there was no centre. We embarked on it. There was no drinking water for our people. The hospitals were moribund. Public schools were in a total state of disrepair. What did we do? We summoned courage. First, the governor that stayed before me for seven months, Emeka Ihedioha, was not able to live in the government house for one day until he left because the place was not habitable. I struggled to operate for a few days from where he worked, which was outside the Government House. I was challenged that I didn’t contest the election to come and stay outside the Government House. So I moved in. From the guest house where I stayed, I recovered the office, recovered the governor’s lodge, started cleaning up the compound and that’s how I now have an office. The executive chamber was just like one of those market stalls.

I had to immediately build a brand new escrow chamber. Now we have a Government House. Then we did a comprehensive review of the state of roads in Owerri. I prioritised the roads network, identified the major economic interests that would create an economy for my people. Three major roads that came to mind were the Owerri-Orlu Road, the Owerri-Okigwe Road and the Owerri-Umuahia Road. If you go through those roads now, they are a thing of testimony for themselves.

Within a short period, we did over 120 solid roads. And we restored the Owerri Water Scheme. In 2020, people were hauling water in jerry cans and trolleys in Imo State, particularly Owerri, which was supposed to be the state capital, with no access to potable or drinking water.

So we restored that and the Owerri Water Scheme, within the first six months, started running. And our people started discovering themselves again. We looked at the civil service, it was like a market square. Not only did we rehabilitate the buildings and the secretariat, we had no data. We embarked on the enumeration and automation of our civil service nominal roll. We were able to reorganise and recalibrate the modus operandi in the payment of salaries and the recruitment of civil servants. Today, we have a well-sanitised civil service that we can stand up anywhere and tell you how many people that are under our employ. From 2020 to today, we have never missed payment of salaries for a month.
When I came, the minimum wage in Imo State was N18,000. I did the N30,000 minimum wage, even without any prompting, on our own, it increased to N40,000 before the new agreement of Federal Government, and we have started paying N70,000 minimum wage. Even now, I am reviewing the salaries of teachers and critical non-economic offices that are required for social mobilisation in the state. We will review upwards the remuneration to be able to create some additional incentives that will enable workers to get job satisfaction.

In Imo State, I can tell you both the pensioners, civil servants today are under free medical care. We have one of the most robust health insurance schemes and my state government is paying the insurance premium on behalf of all workers. And they have access to medical treatment, every type of ailment apart from cancer. We have strengthened the facilities, the hospitals, the primary health care and the secondary health care system in Imo State is very strong. Only last month, we amended our hospital management law to provide for a public-private partnership so we can have private funds injected into it knowing full well that once you are enrolled for N15,000 a year for the informal sector, you have access to free medical services throughout the year. By the grace of God, it is my hope that we will strengthen the medical system, the school system.

Today, Imo State is the only state in Nigeria with three universities. When I came, we had Imo State University and the College of Agriculture. But today we have Imo State University, we have University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and we have the Mbadiwe University. All being funded and financed by the state government in addition with a polytechnic and the college of education. So infrastructure is not about road. We have both tangible and intangible services we provide as dividends of democracy.

Those who knew Owerri before 2020, if you go to Owerri now, you will be surprised what has happened. The revolution is, I don’t think that the best form of communication, really, if you want to encourage concentration, is to embark on the strategic ways of advertising yourself. Seeing is believing. We do the work, while some other people do the propaganda. But with our work, we demolish propaganda. That is what we are doing. I think that for Vanguard to have seen that and invited me to the way I was honoured yesterday, you see the attendance, how excited Imo people from the smallest to the biggest were. We create an environment of conviviality, where people must go around, radiate joy and happiness among themselves. That is what is government. Government is about the people. If they believe you, they will trust you. If they trust you, they will follow you. I think that is what is happening in Imo State now. I am very happy, and indeed, I want to give all the glory to God.

What is happening in Imo State as regards insecurity?

For insecurity, the insecurity that started in Imo State from 2020, my first four years, was more of a politically contrived insecurity. Those who lost out in the election, those who could not sustain the fraud they committed, got angry and then wanted to create a situation where there would be anarchy in Imo State, looking for a state of emergency. But God said no. Coupled with the local agitation of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Easter Security Network, ESN, people, and that led to the breaking of Owerri Correctional Center facility. And then, armed robbers who had been there for over 20 years, kidnappers had their way out, they went back to the business, the only business they know how to do. It costs government a lot of money. But gradually, with the support of the federal government and God’s grace, we have relative peace in Imo State, and people have gone back to do their businesses without fear of any serious molestation. For me, we have relative security in Imo State now. It is no longer an Imo affair. The thing is all over the country. So every state has fastened their seatbelts to ensure that there is security in place.
So working with the community, we are using both a kinetic and non-kinetic approach and it is yielding results. I think the situation is good. I invite all of you to come to Imo State and see for yourself what is happening there.

You said you dealt with the insecurity part, but the Imo West Zone has been complaining about security. What effort are you making to ensure that the people move freely and then you continue with the infrastructure, especially the Orlu side of that zone?

There is a beginning to everything. First, what led to insecurity? All of us are here in the country, where this incremental growth of unemployment and the youth population has become very explosive. And of course, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The youth population now decided to go into all sorts of things, including drug abuse. To address insecurity, we must start from the roots, from the basis. For Imo West, the population there is small.

That is the only district with 12 local governments out of 27. So we have more private sector people. We have the youth population there higher. We have the highest voting population. We have done our best to engage the youth population.



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