Says;Imolites Suffering Agonizing Hardship
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Imo State chapters has said that the failure of the Hope Uzodinma-led Imo State government to make public the costs of constructing the Assumpta Cathedral single-land interchange flyover (which is less than 200 meters long) and the Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu Conference Centre that were inaugurated on Tuesday September 30, further gives credence to the criminal tendencies of the current administration in the state.
This was contained in a release signed by the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Lancelot Obiaku and made available to newsmen.
According to the release, “Imo PDP notes that under Uzodimma’s regime, the Public Procurement Bureau in the State has been rendered obsolete, while the Governor arrogates to himself exclusive authority to appropriate, initiate, and procure government contracts, processes and costs of which are deliberately kept undisclosed, obviously to cover the monumental corruption in them, and thus making governance a private and secret-cult affair.
The party, therefore, states unequivocally that the fanfare surrounding the inauguration of these two projects is essentially a brazen advertisement of the administration’s corruption, while Imo citizens, whose commonwealth is being recklessly plundered by this roguish regime, gnash their teeth and count their losses.
Ridiculously, the Governor is wasting billions erecting a few new edifices in the city, whereas public schools and health facilities remain in a state of decay, key urban and rural roads are neglected, and citizens struggle daily to eke out a living. A damning reality is that, due to the deplorable condition of roads across Imo communities, many residents now dread visiting their villages”.
Continuing, the release said, “While the party acknowledges that the State is in dire need of standard public infrastructure, it must be asked why a government that has been in power for nearly six years continues to ignore critical city roads and a myriad of death trap roads in rural communities, choosing instead to invest in secondary projects.
For example, just a stone’s throw from the Assumpta flyover is the Umuguma road, which has become a death trap. With the rapid population growth in the Umuguma suburb, which also houses a Federal Housing Estate, one would have expected the State Government to prioritize fixing such an important road. Also at the city centre are roads leading to the Ahiajoku Convention Center and Saga Suites in New Owerri, from Hospital Junction and Ebere Links at Port Harcourt Road, which are in appalling condition”.
The party further said, “Nekede-Ihiagwa road, which leads to the Federal Polytechnic Nekede and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), from Naze, remains practically impassable. Other deplorable roads within a six- to eight-kilometre radius of the Government House include: Akwakuma Junction to Hardel Junction, Akwakuma Junction to Egbeada, Amakohia Flyover to Onitsha Road, Amakohia Flyover to Orji Flyover, Rochas Roundabout to Works Layout, IMSU Junction to Works Layout, up to Standard Shoes, Ama-wire Junction to Umudagu, Ama-wire Junction to Bishop’s Court, Standard Shoe, World Bank Last Roundabout to Umuguma, World Bank Last Roundabout to Hospital Junction, World Bank to Yar’Adua Drive. All of these roads are a disgrace to behold.
The PDP insists that the State Government cannot justify spending billions of taxpayers’ money to host the President and celebrate projects it has not accounted for, especially when more pressing projects and critical sectors of the State’s economy are being neglected.
The party challenges Governor Hope Uzodimma and the Imo State Government to publish the actual costs of the flyover and Conference Centre within 48 hours, so that the people of Imo can judge for themselves whether this administration truly means well for the State.
We will not hesitate to make our findings about these projects known to the public sooner than later”.
