2027: You have no credible agenda – Imo Govt knocks governorship aspirant
The Imo State Government has blasted a governorship aspirant, Chima Amadi, saying that he has no credible agenda for the people of the state.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, accused Amadi of inciting the public with fabricated statistics and baseless claims intended to mislead and provoke unrest.
Emelumba stated that instead of Amadi to unveil a serious manifesto or plan for Imo people, he has resorted to attacking the government with lies and discredited data.
Amadi had, at a seminar of the Catholic Men Organization in Owerri on Thursday, claimed that Imo State recorded the highest maternal mortality rate in Nigeria – 1,863 deaths (per 100,000 live births) – allegedly due to poor health facilities.
Responding, Emelumba dismissed the assertion as fiction, saying that contrary to Amadi’s claim, the actual figure for maternal mortality in Imo State is 163 deaths per 100,000 live births, citing kingmakers.com.ng as source.
He noted that the figure is relatively low by national standards, (Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is 993 per 100,000 live births), adding that Governor Hope Uzodimma believes it must keep declining, with zero as the ultimate target.
“This is why the government has sustained spirited efforts to expand access to maternal care and improve outcomes for mothers and babies across the state,” he added.
Emelumba said Amadi’s claim that health facilities in Imo are in poor shape is not only false but laughable, given the consistent national recognition the state has received in healthcare delivery. According to him, in December 2021, Imo was honoured by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for running the Best State Health Promotion Campaign.
The commissioner added, “This is a man who wants to govern Imo State, yet he doesn’t know the constitutional framework of governance. It’s embarrassing.”
He also debunked Amadi’s suggestion that Governor Uzodimma had seized control of local government allocations, describing the accusation as another lie devoid of evidence.
“Amadi told his audience that nothing has been done at the local government level in the last five years. But the facts speak for themselves: five kilometres of road have been constructed in each of the 27 LGAs. Local councils have also signed an MoU with the Orashi Electricity Company to deliver 24-hour electricity to their communities. And no local government worker is owed a salary in Imo State,” Emelumba affirmed.
The government also berated Amadi for saying that public education in Imo is in decline.
According to Emelumba, the facts on the ground present a different account: “Under Governor Uzodimma, over 305 primary schools and dozens of secondary schools have been rebuilt, labs and libraries restored, and teacher morale boosted with extended retirement age and regular pay. Imo students now excel in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB. At the tertiary level, Imo is funding five institutions, a regional first, and just secured a fifth federal university with a N39 billion take-off grant. Lost accreditations in medical and nursing schools have been restored. If this is what Amadi calls failure, he’s clearly not paying attention.”
According to Emelumba, governance is not about throwing money around or demonising the incumbent government to score cheap political points.
“Even if Amadi were to become governor of Imo State by accident, it would take him more than eight years to match what Uzodimma has delivered in just five,” he declared.
“This is not about rabble-rousing. This is not about stoking resentment. Governance requires vision, capacity, and substance, attributes that are far away from the Chima Amadi that spoke at Assumpta on Thursday.”
He challenged Amadi to publish a credible action plan for Imo State that matches the scale, ambition, and execution plan of Governor Uzodimma’s pre-candidacy blueprint as the APC governorship candidate in 2019.
“Until then,” Emelumba said, “he should stop gallivanting across the state inciting innocent citizens and pretending to be what he is not; because the more he does, the more he exposes his emptiness and incapacity to govern even a local government area.”
2027: You have no credible agenda – Imo Govt knocks governorship aspirant
