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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Major General Lincoln Ogunewe (retd) has expressed optimism that the governorship election in Imo State in 2023 will reset the state and usher in better government.
Ogunewe, expressing his views as the chairman of a book launch in honour of Peter Obi in Owerri, also decried the level of insecurity in the state, hoping that emergence of the right leader will tackle the challenge.
He recalled that the state was once peaceful and envied by others during the administration of the late Sam Mbakwe who he noted achieved a lot.
“As the first civilian governor of Imo State, he lived and served his people, Ndi Imo. He was passionate and even traded his dignity and was tagged as the Weeping Governor. Dee Sam was not weeping for yesterday but for today.
“He saw Imo of tomorrow, the hatred, the chaos, the killings and therefore wept. Mbakwe’s government was a people’s revolution, a revolution of love and peaceful co-existence that galvanized the people to achieve common goals,” Ogunewe stated.
Advising a way forward out of the insecurity challenge and good governance, Ogunewe said: “I am a security expert having spent 35 years in the service of Nigeria in the Army. I held several commands, staff, intelligence and diplomatic postings which greatly exposed me to different spheres of life.
“I know that conflicts of any nature cannot and can never be resolved by bullets, guns and threats but by negotiation, pacification and reintegration. No one is happy with the rate of killings in Imo State which could have been resolved if leadership at all levels played their parts; leadership at the family level, community, local government areas and the state,” Ogunewe said
The ex-army general who is also a member of the support group, ‘Team Reset Imo for OBIDATTI, believes it is realisable if the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party(LP) Obi wins the presidency.
“The worsening insecurity in Imo State could be likened to a television that is frozen; you cannot change the channel, volume or any function on the remote until you reset it. It is my utmost belief that Imo State needs resetting, hence our motto “Team Reset Imo 4 OBIDATTI.”
“We will work tirelessly to actualise the Peter Obi presidency. Soon, we will be embarking on Townhall Meetings in the 27 LGAs of Imo State vigorously sensitising Imolites and selling Peter Obi and all our other candidates,” he said.
