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Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, said the state has moved from policy statements to practical delivery, and is now “producing templates for leadership transformation” that other states can adopt.
He stated this while addressing a distinguished gathering of members of the House of Lords and Africann leaders at an event organised by the African Leadership Organisation in London, last Thursday.
Speaking on the theme, “From Vision to Velocity: Driving Africa’s Next Wave of Growth and Leadership, The Imo Experience”, Governor Uzodimma said Imo’s economic approach has yielded measurable results in employment. He stated that a strategic business template has created more than 20,000 jobs, while investments in digital technology and skills have generated another 60,000 jobs.
“The government understands that the next economy will be built by young people with skills,” Uzodimma said. “Through Imo Digital City and the SkillUp Imo initiative, more than 60,000 young people have been trained for the digital economy.”
He added that the state has also established the basic infrastructure required to attract and retain investment.
On infrastructure, Uzodimma said his administration has constructed more than 140 roads across the state in the last six and a half years. He linked infrastructure to energy, noting that Imo is leveraging its gas resources to drive industrialisation.
The state, he said, has designated 140,000 hectares of land for the Orashi Special Energy Free Zone to attract serious energy investment.
“When power becomes reliable in Imo, the face of industrialisation changes across Nigeria’s South East. That means jobs in a state where too many young people have waited too long for one,” he said.
In his keynote, Uzodimma argued that Africa’s development has been slowed not by a lack of ideas, but by the inability to execute at speed.
“Our founding fathers dreamed big. What we have lacked is velocity, the speed to turn our lofty plans into changed lives. That distance between the vision and the delivery is where several generations of African development have quietly died,” he said.
He said Imo has chosen to close that gap by focusing on delivery while building replicable models of governance.
The governor also presented the “One Kindred, One Business” initiative as a second leadership template. Under the model, communities pool resources to co-own businesses.
He said more than 600 businesses have been established under the scheme, creating 20,000 jobs. He said the Federal Government has adopted the model to encourage replication in other states.
Uzodimma outlined what he called the foundation of “velocity”: strong institutions, infrastructure, innovation, and citizen safety.
“Velocity is never an accident. It is built where institutions are strengthened, where infrastructure is laid, where innovation is welcomed, and where the citizen is safe. Assemble these four, and a government stops announcing and begins to deliver,” he said.
He invited investors to Imo, assuring them that the enabling environment is already in place.
At the event, the African Leadership Organisation conferred on Uzodimma the African Leadership and Good Governance Award. The governor described the honour as one he deeply valued. He also commended the organisation for “giving the African story a stage on which it is told in Africa’s own voice.”
Uzodimma’s London engagement comes as several Nigerian states intensify efforts to attract foreign direct investment and build youth-focused digital economies. The Progressive Governors’ Forum, which he chairs, comprises governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Imo’s focus on gas, digital skills, and community-owned enterprises places it within a growing trend of sub-national governments seeking to diversify beyond oil and federal allocations.
