“I want to commend the Governor. I don’t flatter. He has brought the world to Imo. Imo is bubbling. The transformation I have met on ground, I am pleased.”
Those were the words of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during her recent visit to Imo State. They are important words because they came from someone who had just physically seen the roads, infrastructure and renewed activity in the state. They were not campaign slogans manufactured in Owerri. They were the observations of a national figure after seeing Imo for herself.
What Governor Hope Uzodimma has done in Imo deserves to be discussed beyond the narrow vocabulary of partisan politics. The 56 kilometre Okigwe–Owerri Road, the 36 kilometre Owerri–Obowo–Umuahia Road, the dualised Owerri–Orlu Road and Orlu-Umuchima-Akokwa Road, the MCC–Toronto–Uratta corridor and the Chukwuma Nwoha Road are only some of the major road interventions that have changed the physical and economic landscape of the state. The administration has also undertaken extensive urban renewal in Owerri, including the Assumpta Flyover, while the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport has undergone major upgrades, including night landing capability and ongoing expansion. At the last count, more than 120 roads have been completed across Imo, including 37 new roads within an 18 month period.
But the story goes far beyond roads. The Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu International Conference Centre has given Owerri a major international conference facility. The restored Concorde Hilton Hotel has revived one of the most iconic hospitality landmarks in the South East and repositioned it for international business and tourism. The Imo Digital City has replicated Silicon Valley and young tech entrepreneurs are now being groomed in their thousands. The Government House Annex in Orlu and other major public infrastructure projects add to a pattern of development that is increasingly difficult to reduce to political propaganda. These are physical assets that now form part of the state’s development landscape.
Perhaps even more significant is what is happening in the energy sector. The ANOH Gas Processing Plant represents a major economic opportunity for Imo and Nigeria. It has moved from years of planning into actual operations and is contributing to Nigeria’s domestic gas market. The project is particularly important because gas is not simply another infrastructure item. It is a foundation for industrialisation, power generation and job creation. The emergence of the Orashi energy projects and related initiatives also points to an administration that understands that roads alone cannot create an industrial economy. Electricity infrastructure is key. “Let there be light” was the first declaration by our Creator in his developmental drive.
The same strategic thinking is visible in the effort to develop the Orashi Energy Free Trade Zone, revive industries and strengthen the state’s productive base. There have been interventions around the Standard Shoe Company, Nsu Tile Industries, Adapalm and agricultural production, alongside plans connected to the Orashi River and the state’s wider industrialisation strategy. The dredging vision for the Orashi corridor and the effort to position Imo for greater access to regional and international trade are particularly important because they speak to a larger question: whether Imo can move from being predominantly a consumer economy to becoming a serious production, logistics, energy and investment hub.
Add to these the administration’s interventions in healthcare, education, agriculture, women empowerment and other sectors. The rehabilitation of hundreds of primary healthcare centres, the development of modern general hospitals, the strengthening of tertiary institutions, digital skills initiatives and the broader Skill-Up Imo Project all belong to the same development conversation.
The most revealing thing about the First Lady’s visit was perhaps the contrast between what outsiders are seeing and what some local political actors desperately want Imo people to believe. While Senator Oluremi Tinubu was praising the transformation she encountered, 2,500 women and vulnerable persons were receiving empowerment support through the combined efforts of the federal and state governments. The state government contributed an additional 2,000 empowerment items to the federal programme, while the First Lady announced ₦100,000 for each beneficiary. Yet some disgruntled politicians remain trapped in the politics of denunciation, pretending that everything happening around them is invisible. That kind of opposition is not constructive criticism. It is political frustration!
As someone who hails from Ngor Okpala, I find it necessary to make one point particularly clear. Ngor Okpala is not the political property of any individual who suddenly wakes up and declares himself both a governorship aspirant and senatorial candidate at the same time. The people of Ngor Okpala have their own judgment, their own leaders and their own understanding of the direction in which Imo is moving. No aspirant has the authority to speak for every community, every traditional ruler, every political leader or every citizen in the area. I therefore reject any attempt by an individual aspirant from another political platform to appropriate the voice of Ngor Okpala or manufacture the impression that the people have abandoned the Governor. Political ambition is legitimate. Political misrepresentation is not.
There is also something fundamentally wrong with an opposition strategy that sees nothing good in Imo simply because the Governor belongs to another political camp. Opposition should interrogate government. It should demand accountability. It should offer alternatives. But when opposition becomes an exercise in denying visible development and attacking everything that carries the name of the Governor, it ceases to be credible. Imo deserves better than politics of envy, bitterness and personal desperation. Governor Uzodimma has become a national political figure whose administration is attracting attention beyond the boundaries of the state. Even the First Lady of Nigeria has now publicly acknowledged that “he has brought the world to Imo.” That is a reality that cannot be wished away by social media noise or the lamentations of a few frustrated wannabe politicians.
Indeed, there is a deeper lesson here. Development is ultimately measured not by the volume of political commentary but by what remains on the ground after the politicians have finished talking. A road either exists or it does not. A flyover either reduces congestion or it does not. An international conference centre either attracts events or it does not. An airport either operates at night or it does not. A five star hotel either meets international standards or it does not. A gas processing plant either produces and supplies gas or it does not. These are measurable realities. They can be inspected, photographed, travelled on, used and independently assessed. This is why the recent inspection of Imo projects by the Presidential Media Team and Renewed Hope Ambassadors is significant. More than 40 senior journalists were taken around major projects so that they could see and assess them firsthand rather than depend entirely on political claims.
The significance of this transformation is therefore larger than Governor Uzodimma himself. It is about what Imo can become when infrastructure, energy, hospitality, technology, agriculture, healthcare and human capital development are pursued as interconnected components of one economic vision. A functioning airport complements a conference centre. A world class hotel complements an international conference facility. Good roads connect markets to farms, industries and communities. Gas supports power and industrial production. Digital skills prepare young people for opportunities beyond the traditional economy. Healthcare and education strengthen the human capital required to sustain development. That is the bigger picture which local political envy tries to hide.
I have no doubt at all that some of the roads in Ngor Okpala that require attention will certainly be fixed before long. I can assure that 100 percent of our votes in Ngor Okpala will be cast for the APC at levels next year. This is the Ngor Okpala consensus. I therefore believe that the appropriate response from Imo people is to judge Governor Uzodimma by the record before them, while judging every aspiring politician by the substance of the alternative being offered. I know that political leadership is not about making the loudest noise. It is about what one contributes to the development of one’s people. Imo has moved from being discussed only within the narrow confines of local politics to attracting national attention. And whatever individual political ambitions may emerge in Ngor Okpala, they should never be confused with the collective voice of our people.
*Rt. Hon. Bede Eke, a former member of the House of Representatives, is the Honorable Commissioner, Ministry of Housing, Imo State.
