-Wants President To Intervene Before Is Too Late
A former Commissioner for Foreign Affairs in Governor Hope Uzodinma’s administration has accused the Governor of presiding over a corrupt, inept and purposeless administration that has made the fortune of the state and her people worse than it was when he assumed office five years ago.
Ihekweme who has for some time been very vocal in x-raying and bringing to the public domain details of what he considers indices of the Governor’s maladministration, stated this in an open letter he addressed to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urged the latter to intervene in the interest of Imo people who have never had it so bad.
In the letter captioned, “MISMANAGEMENT OF IMO STATE HUMAN AND FISCAL RESOURCES BY GOV. HOPE UZODINMA”, Dr Ihekweme urged President Tinubu to step in as a matter of urgency before Imo State slides into anarchy.
The letter reads in part, “A call or Mr. President’s Intervention before Imo Slides Into a state of anarchy. I am constrained to write this open letter to you Mr. President. I decided to make it an open letter because the issues are very weighty and must be greatly worrisome to all concerned Nigerians especially to those of us from Imo state.
Mr. President, with deep sense of humility, I am seeking your gracious and timely intervention to save the people of Imo state from brutal annihilation by the Imo state corrupt absentee Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma. The Governor of Imo State, who was sworn in to protect the lives and property of Imo people but has ended up becoming their albatross. He claims to be above the law because he has immunity to waste Imo State fiscal resources as he deems fit. It is indeed a tragedy.
The five years reign of Hope Uzodinma sofar has brought untold insecurity, hardship, agony, pain, deprivation and poverty on the land of Imo state. Our Children and youths are dying, due to hardship rulership of Uzodinma. The peace loving people of Imo state, have been seriously battered and killed by the caustic and corrosive government of Hope Uzodinma.
Since Uzodinma took his first oath of office on the 15th of January 2020, Imo state has witnessed rampant killings of Citizens which have become a rule not an exception. He has de-marketed the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party in Imo State through severe administrative Wickedness. First, he dismantled every established instrument of governance in the state and bequeathed to himself as the only source of power “Sole Administrator” in the whole state and carries himself like an Ancient Roman Emperor. Unfortunately, Imo Citizens have become his plebeians.
Every sector in Imo state has collapsed. The Governor has shut down everywhere, puts the state under lock and keys and went back to Abuja where he resides and continues his profligacy lifestyle. He visits once every two or three months just to show appearance and renew his presence, or to host a seminar, where he lectures his displaced citizens ironically, on good governance”.
“Uzodinma has become a renowned absentee Governor who resides in Abuja and visits Imo State once in two or three months just to show where he ironically harps on good governance that has continued to elude his own state.
Prior to the burial of the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo Chief Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu of the blessed memory on the 1st of November 2024, the Imo state governor had already spent 48 days outside Imo state. He returned to Imo on the very day Chief Engr. Iwuanyanwu was being buried. He left immediately after the burial the next day and proceeded for Egypt, as Imo Pharaoh, where he spent one week trying to con and facilitate a loan of One billion five hundred million dollars (USD $1.5billion) from Afrexim Bank which has not been granted because of lack of due process on the part of the Governor. If by any accident Afrexim Bank grants the USD $1.5 billion loan, Governor Uzodinma will definitely waste the loan on his personal inordinate political ambition, Phantom projects and personal lifestyle upkeep. He was trying to circumvent the laws of Nigeria where the National Assembly is empowered to approve foreign loans for federal government and states.
Mr. President, I am writing about a Governor who inaugurated his Exco (Cabinet) for over a year ago but has never held any Executive Council meeting with them, he purportedly forges Exco memo approvals for projects of his personal interest. Infact, most of his Commissioners and Advisers including other senior Aides have relocated out of Imo state because there is no responsibility assigned to them.
The Imo House of Assembly which he personally handpicked almost the 27 members, are completely paralyzed. He changes the leadership of the Imo House of Assembly every year on whimsical reasons. He suspends any member that raises any issue concerning Imo people’s interest on the floor of the House without his approval.
As I write, this Open letter, three members of the Imo State House of Assembly (Ahiazu, Oru West and Okigwe state Constituencies) are still on suspension for whimsical and unjustifiable reasons.
Only motions that seek to promote and sing praises of the emperor Governor, are allowed by the Speaker. Every other business of the day must obtain gubernatorial approval from his Abuja residence, before it is tabled at the plenary.
The Governor does not tolerate any dissenting Voice from Imo Citizens against him. He uses every available covert method to deal ruthlessly with any opposition or disloyalty against him, in a brutish and undemocratic manner. Nobody from Imo state enters Presidential Villa without his approval. If you try, it’s at your own peril. Anybody that achieves such feat without him, becomes his mortal enemy. He has virtually blocked all political appointments coming to Imo state that didn’t pass through him. He supplies mediocre individuals for Federal Appointments, a deliberate sabotage against the Federal Government progress. There are so many examples: Mr. President. But the one that captured the attention of Imo people was the zoning of APC National Organising Secretary to South East and was further micro zoned to Imo state, but Governor Uzodinma, used his offices and relocated that party position to another zone, precisely the South West.
The Governor doesn’t waste time in humiliating anyone who dares him. Before the death of Chief Engr. Iwuanyanwu, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu graciously took Chief Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to see Mr. President. Since that incident occurred, Gov. Uzodinma developed so much resentment on the Deputy Speaker and surreptitiously started treating him as a mortal enemy. What was the Deputy Speaker’s offence? The only offence was that he took Ahaejiagamba to see Mr. President. Sadly, at the burial ceremony, the Rt. Honourable Deputy Speaker (DS) of The Federal House of Representatives showed up at the church service before the interment, the Governor of Imo State allegedly instructed his protocol officers to ignore the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, there was no respect, no recognition and he was not allowed to speak.
Mr. President, the Governor of Imo state has succeeded in cowing down respectable sons and daughters of Imo state. Anyone that dares him or criticises him will face the full wrath his ruthlessness and indignation. As we speak, a popular Roman Catholic Radio Show Host and whistle blower Chinonso Ubah popularly known as NONSONKWA has been on chains in the police cell for the past one month for speaking truth to power. NONSONKWA was picked up for telling the Governor to stop misusing Local Government funds frivolously and he has been charged to court for cyber stalking of Governor Uzodinma and his co-travelers. Mr. President, Imo people will be grateful to you, if you order the Inspector General of Police to wade into this matter and ensure that NONSONKWA is released and discontinue the phantom allegations and charges brought against him.
In the final analysis, Imo people will be eternally grateful if the President intervenes in the insecurity, food crisis and mismanagement of Imo State human and fiscal resources by Governor Hope Uzodinma.
The entire Imo state is bleeding as the Governor has been unable to curb insecurity and restore social order. He has failed to discharge credible leadership. He has also failed to offer sustainable dividends of democracy and improve workers’ welfare. All he does is to sit in Abuja and shuttle in and out of the country wasting Imo taxpayers money in a frivolous lifestyle.
Mr. President, we need your intervention to direct Hope Uzodinma to go back to his state where he is still carrying our mandate as the Governor. He can’t be wasting our resources outside Imo state with no semblance of governance from him. There is no sign of governance in Imo state as the Governor diverts the monthly state allocations to his private pockets, siphones LGA FAAC allocations, misappropriates 13% oil derivation and other accruals including Internally Generated Revenues and on top of that, the Governor is into excessive borrowing spree, leaving huge debt burden on the state. Uzodinma is obviously behaving like someone sent to come and punish the people because he has succeeded in reversing all indices of progress in the state. Imo is now stagnant, unproductive, inert, motionless and dead. The Governor sits in Abuja and hears stories of how his people are being slaughtered everyday and he utters no single word in condemnation, rather he keeps himself busy receiving purchased awards from different organisations and institutions. How on earth can the Governor of Imo state be honored with an award of excellence on Industrial Development when in the actual sense, the Governor has not even built a factory that can employ five people. Imo is in dire need of your intervention Mr. President.
May God continue to strengthen you and keep you far away from the likes of Hope Uzodinma”.
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