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Gov Of The Year
Hope Uzodimma
Governor of Imo State
By Henry Umahi
To describe Governor Hope Odidika Uzodimma of Imo State as a tough politician is to state the obvious. He is a hard nut to crack. Largely underrated, he gets the better of his opponents and leaves them bemused.
Interestingly, Uzodimma is always on the side of the people, catering to their needs whenever opportunity comes. As governor of Imo State, he has made this manifest. Last December, he gave civil servants in the state a special Christmas gift by approving the payment of the 13th month salary (100 per cent of the basic salary) to all civil servants in the state. To rub it in, the governor said that he did not regard payment of salary as achievement “because the worker deserves his wage.”
The payment of Christmas bonus last year was unprecedented in Imo State. It was the first of such intervention in the history of the state. But it was a bold statement that the governor appreciates the state civil servants. With him, Imo civil servants have never had it so good and there was wild jubilation at the state secretariat when payment alerts were received.
Indeed, in the last two years, the Uzodimma administration has rejuvenated public sector workforce with investment in human and material resources. It has also given Imo indigenes in general many reasons to be happy. He has made
efforts to recover state resources frittered away by previous administrations. He has also recovered lands which past state actors forcefully took from hapless citizens and gave them back to the original owners. It was a mark of justice.
Like him or hate him, Governor Uzodimma is silently working to make Imo better. Although his achievements are being drowned by the activities of “unknown gunmen,” they are there for those who are unbiased to see. For instance, many of the dilapidated roads that doted Owerri, the capital of the state, and other parts of the state have either been fixed or undergoing reconstruction.
Those who knew the state of roads at the Owerri capital territory before Uzodimma assumed office would be proud of what he has done in the reconstruction of Douglas Road to Naze junction, Links Hotel Road, Chikwuma Nwaoha Road, Hospital junction, Umuguma to High Court Road, Bank Road/Assumpta Avenue, Emmanuel College to Pastoral Centre, Imo Police Headquar- ters Road, Nekede Old Road bridge, Amakohia Flyover Road, Bishops Court Roundabout, Ebere Links end of new Government House Road, Amakohia-Onitsha (DSS Road), Works Road by Bala Suya, Cherubim junction to Owerri Club Road, Ahiajoku Centre- Port Harcourt Road and Umezuruike-Warehouse Road, among others.
Similarly, the Owerri-Orlu and Owerri- Okigwe dual carriageway, which are critical intercity roads, are being reconstructed. When completed, the roads will serve as a great stimulant to the economy of the state.
As a man of class, Uzodimma has changed the face of Government House to make it befitting. He also constructed a new Executive Chamber, Banquet Hall and Governor’s Lodge.
At a time when public utilities are in decay across the country, Uzodimma is restoring hope by rehabilitating these infrastructure. For the first time in decades, public taps are dispensing water in parts of Owerri, even as Owerri Main Market is being rebuilt. The Imo government is also
building and equipping hospitals across the state. The government has also entered into a strategic
partnership with a foreign company on the management of the hitherto moribund Adapalm Nigeria Ltd, which will create employment and boost the economy of the state. In the education sector, Uzodimma has done well. The state government has built a new polytechnic at Omumma. He has also remodelled and rebranded the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo, to make it a cutting-edge institution. His administration has repackaged the Imo State University, providing state-of-the-art equipment. Born on December 12, 1958, in Omumma, Uzodimma was educated at the University of Washington, USA. His accomplishments in the last two years, even in the midst of so much opposition, stand him out. He is the winner of The Sun Governor of the Year award 2021.
