The Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has described as disastrous, the two years reign of Hope Uzodinma as the Governor of the state.

PDP in a statement issued by its state publicity secretary, Emenike Nmeregini, on Monday, accessed the two year anniversary of Uzodiinma as governor and accused him of underperforming.

The main opposition party said that within two years, the Uzodinma’s administration had politicised insecurity in the state and had allowed bandits, kidnappers and terrorists to overrun the state.

It also alleged that the state was now the unemployment capital of the country, owing to bad governance.

According to the PDP, the state is now the most indebted state in the South-East zone, owing to what it called bogus borrowing with improper utilisation of the funds by the Uzodinma’s administration.

The statement read, “The people of Imo State and Nigerians will recall that on January 14, 2020, a bizarre and controversial Supreme Court judgement truncated the popular mandate which Imo people had freely given to our party through our flagbearer, His Excellency,  Emeka Ihedioha CON, at the March 9, 2019 governorship election. That judgement also enthroned the generally disputed, illegitimate regime of Senator Hope Uzodinma.

“Aside from the adverse implications of that ruling on the nation’s electoral jurisprudence and freedom of choice, the regime has in the last two years foisted the most reprehensible administration upon the people of Imo State.

The illegitimate regime of Senator Uzodinma has without remorse, abdicated the primary obligation of government as prescribed by the Constitution, which is the security of lives and property. Rather, it has politicised an unfortunate security situation in the state which has continued to gulp countless innocent lives, every day. Today, bandits, terrorists, cannibals, kidnappers and unknown gunmen are almost overrunning the state.

“It is curious that Senator Uzodinma, until now, has yet to refute a very weighty allegation by the senator representing his own senatorial district who accused him of being the mastermind of a deadly hit squad that is backed by his administration. Most areas in Orlu Zone are currently under the firm grip of gunmen, a situation that has thousands of our citizens internally displaced.

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“Our party and indeed the people of Imo State regret that Senator Uzodinma suspended and summarily dismantled all the foundations and programmes our Rebuild Imo administration painstakingly put in place in all the sectors towards the rebuilding of Imo State.

“Our government commenced the Treasury Single Account, autonomy for local government system, Technical and Skills Development Colleges, Automated Payment System for prompt payment of salaries and pensions, agricultural revolution, infrastructural revolution, civil service reform, the revival of ISOPADEC, technology and ICT development, qualitative free education etc.

These and other programmes of the Rebuild Imo Administration were dumped by Uzodinma even when he embarked on a borrowing spree, in most cases, nocturnally, which has placed Imo as the most indebted state in the entire South East. This is worrisome given that the regime still cannot point to any landmark project it has done in two years to justify the huge borrowings.

“Last year alone, the regime accessed over N59 billion loans from foreign and domestic sources. This year, 2022, Senator Uzodinma has perfected plans to borrow an additional N61 billion. When added to well over N103 billion which has come to the local government areas from FAAC under Uzodinma, the N105 billion which has come to the State, the N24 billion which the State has internally generated and the N10 billion which represents the 13% Oil Derivation, it is heartbreaking that there is nothing in Imo to show for the monies.

“This is obviously not the Imo State we envisioned for our children. Within the years under review, Senator Uzodinma has had neither a well-researched policy nor direction in the various sectors of the state. This is the calamity that has befallen our state.

Our party notes with great pain that within two years, Senator Uzodinma has made our state, Imo, the unemployment capital of Nigeria. It is noteworthy that the relevant rating board, the Presidential Business Enabling Environment Council, has consistently placed Imo at the lowest rung of the ladder in terms of ease of doing business in Nigeria. Worse still, within two years, our state ranks highest in the South-East in terms of infant and maternal mortality rates.

“Imo has collapsed under Gov. Uzodinma. In the past two years, Senator Uzodinma has wilfully denied workers and retirees their salaries and pensions. When workers stage protests, they are tagged fake and brutalised by agents of the government. Also, the local government system has been completely emasculated, defunded and stripped of autonomy, thus, giving way for mass misery at the grassroots.

“We wish to encourage the people of Imo State to keep the spirit alive. This regime must expire very soon to give way for a PDP led government for the good of the people.”

When contacted for reaction, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, dismissed the PDP’s claims and disclosed that he would officially respond to the allegations “in the next two hours”.