Leading opposition party in Imo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said Governor Hope Uzodimma and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have nothing to campaign with because they have not fulfilled their promises.
Director general of Imo PDP New Media, Lancelot Obiaku, in a statement, said despite promises of reconstruction, rehabilitation, and recovery (3-R), what the Uzodimma-led APC administration has given the people was destruction, decay, and deceit.
He said Imo State residents are now victims of rampant arson and violence, with devastating loss of lives and property, while every aspect of the economy suffered significant damage.
According to the PDP, under Uzodimma, Imo had nosedived into the second-worst performer in revenue generation as it is ranked 35th out of the 36 states in the federation, despite the heavy burden of taxation imposed on businesses and individuals in the state based on Dataphyte research.
Obiaku said the alarming figures were as a result of various factors which included high unemployment rates reaching up to 60 percent, low productivity caused by the absence of robust agricultural and industrial programs and policies, and a lack of both public and private sector investment in Imo state.
Further, the PDP punctured Uzodimma’s claims on roads infrastructure saying the governor only concentrated on the construction of three federal roads, which were quoted at extortionate amounts, and had sourced the refund from the federal government, while neglecting a plethora of dilapidated and impassable rural/state roads.
Obiaku said “Imolites will continue to ask them to account for over N10bn received from the World Bank for the 13.5bn mapped for 380.7 kilometers of roads under the Rural Access and Mobility Program (RAMP), of which the counterpart fund in the region of N2bn was paid by the last PDP administration which was dubiously truncated.
“It is crucial to highlight the deterioration of the education and healthcare sectors. A recent photograph circulated on social media, showing Emmanuel College students sitting on the floor while taking exams. This distressing image serves as a representative example of the crumbling infrastructure and inadequate learning resources in Imo public schools. Unfortunately, there is currently no clear plan or framework for advancing education in the state.
“Shockingly, over 60 percent of Imo public schools lack science teachers, let alone essential learning equipment and materials for both classrooms and laboratories. It remains unclear why the Uzodimma administration, since January 2020, has not constructed any new buildings or renovated existing public schools. The Governor must provide an explanation for this oversight, especially considering his claims of enhancing the educational standards in the State”, the PDP said.
