–
-As President promises to help fight insecurity
The visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Imo state yesterday has been trailed by mixed reactions as some, mainly the opposition leaders have descredited the visit as waste of State resources while others view it as a step in right direction, owing to the fact that it was the first time Buhari visited Imo state since his emergence as president,except during election campaigns.
The president after commissioning some projects in Owerri, met with select leaders of the South East where he assured senator Uzodinma that he will help to fight insecurity in Imo.
It was gathered that despite concerted efforts by the Imo state government to persuade Imolites to ignore the sit-at-home order issued by the Independent People of Biafra and come out en-masse to welcome President Muhammadu Buhari who was in the state yesterday on a one-day working visit, investigation by our reporter reveals that the President met what could be described as a ghost city as all social and economic activities in the state were completely grounded.
There was virtually no activity in all the major towns and cities, especially, in the state capital Owerri, where all shops and markets were closed. There was also no vehicular movement as people clustered in groups discussing, while few people were seen walking about leisurely along the streets, obviously in their neighbourhood.
To further give credence to people’s compliance with IPOB’s sit-at-home directive, most of the streets in Owerri were converted to football fields as youths took advantage of the situation to play and have fun undisturbed by vehicular or human traffic.
The ever busy control post junction by Assumpta Catherdral that used to be a beehive of activities was completely deserted except, few police men standing in strategic positions. The story was the same at the popular Ama JK Junction where all those that usually do business there, including Vendors, hawkers, commercial vehicle drivers etc, were nowhere to be found.
A source disclosed that most of those seen waving at and cheering the President were either hired or are seeking attention, relevance, or political favour and patronage.
“What happened yesterday during the President’s visit is an eye opener to Governor Uzodinma and his co-travellers, who are presently worried that the masses attach little importance to directives issued by the state government. It is not only worrisome but also shows loss of confidence in the system”.
It would be recalled that the state government through the state owned radio and television stations repeatedly told Imolites to ignore the sit at home order issued by IPOB and go about further legitimate businesses. The Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba also said so severally.
