A good governance advocacy group, Good Governance Initiative (GGI) has said that it is opposed to the return of Hope Uzodinma as the Governor of Imo State.
The group said it took this stand after taking a hard look at Uzodinma’s alleged bloody reign as governor.
They highlighted that it is regrettable that the governor’s tenure has, so far, been characterised by unceasing bloodletting and wanton destruction of life and property.
In a statement by its Director of Information, David Uwah, the advocacy group said that it wondered why someone whose governorship has reduced his state to a killing field can be entrusted with yet another four years of bloodletting.
The group further said that even though it was well aware of the large-scale decimation of life and property in Imo State under Uzodinma, it was alarmed by the chilling details of the killings as highlighted in a recent report released by a coalition of civil liberties organisations in Nigeria.
It pointed out that though a recent sham election purports to have given the governor a fresh tenure, the Supreme Court which brought him into office in the first place should step in and right the wrongs that imposed Uzodinma on the state.
According to the group, after taking a hard look at the human rights records of Hope Uzodinma as the governor of Imo State, we are constrained to state, without fear or equivocation, that we reject his return as governor for a second term.
The group continued, “The butcheries and wanton destruction of life and property that took place in Imo state under his watch and supervision cannot be overlooked.
“Imo, under Uzodinma, has been a killing field. We are alarmed and scandalised by this sordid state of affairs and therefore cannot but reject the extension of his tenure for whatever reason and by whatever means.
“Having taken notice of Uzodinma’s failings as the chief security officer of the state in the task of protecting life and property, we make bold to declare that he does not deserve to return as governor. His second coming, if it is allowed to materialize, will reduce Imo to the Hobbesian state of nature where life is nasty, brutish and short.
“We need not emphasise the fact that the primary reason for the existence of government is the protection of life and property. Any government that fails in this regard cannot be salvaged. It is common knowledge that Uzodinma failed spectacularly in this basic task. He did not just fail, he made insecurity a state policy. Imo state, from what we know and can see, epitomised all that is ugly under the reign of Hope Uzodinma. We therefore call on the relevant authorities to discountenance the charade that took place on November 11 in the name of election and deal instead with the real issues that will give Imo a truly people’s governor.
“The Supreme Court has a responsibility to finish what it started on December 20, 2019. It should be recalled that the apex court, on this date, declared that the All Progressives Congress on whose ticket Uzodinma rode to power on January 14, 2020 had no candidate in the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Imo State. How the same court turned around to make a man who was not a candidate in an election winner of that election beats the imagination.
“Even though justice has been long in coming, we are delighted to note that the Supreme Court has scheduled December 5, 2023 for a revisit of the matter. We urge the court to be bold and decisive this time. The judgment of December 20, 2019 must be given effect to and the time to do so is now.”
In his reaction, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, stressed that the challenge of insecurity is being addressed drastically and the state government under the leadership of Uzodinma has reduced the same to the barest minimum.
He called on the citizens to go about their lawful duties without fear as they are on top of the situation.
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