2027: Imo Doesn’t Know Another Presidential Candidate Except Tinubu – Commissioner

The Imo State Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation, and Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, has said that the people of the state do not know any other candidate for the 2027 presidential race except President Bola Tinubu.

Emelumba said this while conducting journalists and government officials on a tour of federal and state government projects organised by Renewed Hope Ambassadors in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team in the state yesterday.

He said that, as an All Progressives Congress (APC) state, governed by Governor Hope Uzodimma, who is also the chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and the Director General of the Renewed Hope Ambassador, victory is assured for President Tinubu and other candidates of the party in next year’s polls.

“We don’t know of any other candidate here. If there is any other person running for president, we don’t know. But as far as I’m concerned, as an APC, I know we have a candidate.

“I believe that many of us here are APC. So we’ll see what happens at the end of the day,” the commissioner noted.

Emelumba said the collaboration between the Imo state and federal government, both governed by the ruling APC, had led to the execution of projects and programmes that added value to the people of the state, who would reciprocate the gesture at the 2027 polls.

“This is an APC state, and as you know, our governor is the chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and is also the Director General of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors.

“So that collaboration, you expect to see it in many places. It is really in many places, as you will see in most of the places we go to,” he stated.

Emelumba noted that it was in line with the robust relationship between the state and government at the centre that the Imo governor reconstructed

The Owerri-Mbaise-Umuahia and Owerri–Okigwe federal roads.

The reconstructed roads, he said, had improved interstate connectivity, reduced travel time, lowered vehicle operating costs and boosted commercial activities between Imo state and neighbouring states – a major gateway between the South-East, South-South and northern parts of Nigeria.

The commissioner further said that the upgraded Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, which was commissioned by Vice President Kashim Shettima, is another landmark project of Governor Uzodimma, made possible through a partnership with the federal government.

“…Already, international flights have actually taken off from this airport. During the last operations, this airport was commissioned, and the airlift of Muslims to the Holy Land was from here. The same thing with Christian, the vice-president actually commissioned it when it took off.

“The whole idea is that we will have an international airport.

His Excellency (Uzodimma) started this, and I must also add that it was made possible through the collaboration of the federal government, which approved all these things and is actually collaborating with the state government to make this possible.

“You know, Igbos by nature, we are traders. We are more into commerce and trading. So this will be a big relief. Most of our businessmen use distant ports to import their goods. So if we have a cargo airport here, of course, it will be a big relief to our businessmen and women who will now find it very convenient to bring in their goods through here,” he said.

Also, speaking, manager of the Sam Mbakwe International Airport, Owerri, Dr Ann Nkechi Ihekwaba, said the state government is increasing the airport runway from 2,700 to 3,200 metres to accommodate any type of wide-bodied aircraft.

She said the project which would be ready in the next two months and the entire upgrade of facilities at the airport is to bring it to the original plan of an international cargo airport and not just for passengers.

The other projects inspected include; the Alvan Ikoku University of Education, Owerri formerly Alvan Ikoku College of Education and Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri (FUTHO), hitherto

Federal Medical Centre (FMC).

For his part, leader of the delegation and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, said the projects showed the significance of states being in alignment with the center for the purpose of development.

“You notice that Governor Hope Uzodimma has been doing projects that are essentially federal government projects. He said that he needs to support the federal government in line with the Renewed Hope agenda.

“So this is the first day in Imo state. I hope that we go out to see more of these projects, more of this partnership for the development of our society,”he said.

Rahman who is also the Director of Media & Publicity,

Renewed Hope Ambassador, also said the development showed clearly that the idea of the removal of subsidy was well thought out.

“Normally when you have reforms like that, it will be painful in the beginning but ultimately, everybody will see the beauty and the gains of those reforms.

“As we have seen, whether in the North where we went to the other day when we started or in Imo, Abia, Ebonyi and the one that we visited, all the governors were telling us there will be more money for them, more space for them to be able to implement other developments,” he added.