PDP Chides Uzodimma On Low Press Freedom Rating

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Imo State chapter, has noted with dismay and astonishment how the state earned yet another bad record with the recently released Openness Index Report by the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID), which ranked Imo as the most dangerous and hostile environment for journalists in Nigeria.

The report entitled, “State of Press Freedom in Nigeria: 2024 Subnational Report,” which was presented in Abuja on July 31, 2025, assessed press freedom across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In a statement made available to newsmen by the state publicity secretary of PDP, Lancelot Obiaku, the party said, the report revealed widespread repression, intimidation and obstruction of journalistic work by state actors, with Imo taking the 37th position and scoring below average at 40.7 percent, the lowest rating in the entire country.

“Furthermore, it measured indicators such as journalists’ access to information, incidents of harassment and intimidation, transparency of government institutions and legal frameworks supporting or restricting media practice.

“For us in Imo State, the report is another sad commentary on Governor Hope Uzodimma’s harsh regime, characterised by high-handedness and abuse of power, which has only managed to set the state on the path of regression in all sectors of its economy.

“It presents a sordid trend under the present administration, wherein a once upward-bound state that bore some hope now finds itself tethering ashamedly at the base of all good governance indicators, including accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, equity and inclusiveness, rule of law, control of corruption and strategic vision.

“For a stagnant state ravaged by insecurity and poverty, these records constantly remind Imo people of their pain in the hands of the rather clueless and mindlessly insensitive Uzodimma administration.

“The government and its agents, by obstructing press freedom and keeping the activities and dealings of government out of public knowledge, only lay their failure, corruption, and depravity bare for the world to see,” the party said.

The party urged the state government headed by Governor Uzodimma to show good faith and reverse the ugly trend.

They called on the government to encourage press freedom by providing the environment, access and necessary legal framework that would allow journalistic work to thrive.