…PDP cautions gov on Imo crisis
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, yesterday, dissolved his Executive Council. The exercise saw 20 commissioners relieved of their duties, while eight were left to carry on with their roles. This is barely a month after the governor reshuffled his cabinet and appointed new commissioners for Finance and Health.
The sacked cabinet members have barely spent 14 months in office. They were nominated on March 11, 2020 and swornin a week later. Those left standing are the commissioners for Health, Information, Tourism, Women Affairs, Works, Finance, Youths and Technology.
At a special Executive Council meeting held yesterday, Governor Uzodimma thanked the out-going commissioners for their services to the state and wished them well in their future endeavours. He added that they will be found useful in other areas if they do not make the new cabinet he will reconstitute soon. Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has charged Governor Uzodinma to humbly accept his leadership inadequacies and seek help rather than pursuing endless conspiracy theories. Regretting that Imo has degenerated into a hotbed of violent crimes and wanton killings, the party maintained that no amount of buck-passing can exonerate Uzodinma from the evident collapse of governance in Imo state under his watch.
In a press statement signed by the party’s spokesman in the state, Mr. Ogubundu Nwadike, the PDP said: “The tranquil atmosphere has given way to gangsterism. Suddenly, life has become insecure in the state. Public, and sometimes, private property are being wantonly destroyed. Insecurity has become a daily affair to the extent that residents now sleep with their eyes half open.”
The party recalled how the peace of the state was shattered when some unknown gunmen took Owerri, the Imo State capital by storm and destroyed the state police command Correctional Services, the PDP said: “Since then, Imo has not known peace.
Lives are lost almost on a daily basis. Security operatives have cashed in on the situation, and this has exacerbated the already tense atmosphere in the state.” The PDP accused Uzodinma of plotting to drag the leadership of the PDP and Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha into the crisis, saying: “It is therefore really worrisome that rather than work towards restoring the peace that he destroyed under his administration, Uzodinma is busy searching for scapegoats. Rather than being humble in failure, the governor is cooking up conspiracy theories. He wants the world to believe that the mayhem that the state witnessed and is still witnessing is being sponsored by politicians. This is escapism of the worst order. “In fact, we are suspicious of Uzodinma and his ways. Since his illegitimate ascension to the office of governor, he has desperately been searching for legitimacy.
This has continued to elude him. Having failed in this regard, Uzodinma has decided to make himself a bull in a China shop. He is on a mission to destroy and castrate Imo State, while giving the impression to his cohorts that he is being hounded and discredited for their sake. This disposition is very pitiable.”
