BY JAMES IGWE
Imo State has been ranked among the three States in the Federation with most miserable persons. Others are Akwa Ibom and Adamawa States.
According to National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the misery index, an indicator used to ascertain how economically unwell the citizens of a country are, has hit 74.3 percent in Imo State. Adamawa and Akwa- Ibom States, hit 72.9 percent and 71. 3 percent respectively.
The index is a summation of unemployment and inflation rates in these states. Indeed, the NBS aptly captured the level of economic downturn in Imo State- with soaring prices of food items and cost of living.
“This is worrisome. There is no day, food prices do not increase at the markets. Inflation seems to have found a tap-root in the State” said Kingsley Emechodo, a resident of Owerri, who spoke to INNONEWS.
Aside hike in food prices, house rent and constant increase in prices of fuel has remained a regular feature. Last year, the NBS also rated Imo State the unemployment capital of Nigeria, with the youths mainly hit.
Plagued by high insecurity issues, Imo, Adamawa and Akwa Ibom States were listed as States with low business attractions for other investments.
Also, the three States, according to the NBS, did not record any investments in the first quarter of 2022, out of the $1.6 billion foreign direct investment that Nigeria recorded in the period, according to data from the Capital Importation report.
Hon Collins Amadi, a former Councillor in the state, said though the situation is not peculiar to Imo State, it is biting harder among citizens.
“This is a wake-up call on Governor Hope Uzodimma. The NBS figures are disturbing.
“It reflects the true situation in the State. It is not a good tale that Imo State keeps popping up in the news for the wrong reasons- high level of insecurity, unemployment capital of Nigeria, etc. The Government has to do something urgent to change the narrative” Amadi said.
Analysts however finger insecurity in the State, as one of the major reasons why cost of living is on the rise.
An Owerri based businessman, Engr Christopher Onuoha, said the Monday Sit- At- Home, has impacted negatively on the economy of the State, which has led to hike in cost of living.
He said “The Monday Sit- At- Home, is not good for our economy. It is not good for business and it is really affecting the economic output of the state.
“Despite the commendable renewal of infrastructure in the state such as roads by the State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, he needs to do more, to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the State” he stated.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Donald Ekweme, said the State Governor, Hope Uzodimma is not to be blamed for the soaring cost of living in the state.
He said “Uzodimma is not be blamed. It is a national problem. The NBS should stop churning out figures, to justify or portray Imo State as a place nothing works. Can the cost of living in Borno State, and other states, where insurgency has been on the rise in the past five years be lower than that of Imo State? This is impossible.
“The opposition is behind those figures and it is not genuine reality of the situation in the State” he said.