Macdonal Ebere, a former chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Imo, has called for an honest conversation about continuity and consolidation beyond Governor Hope Uzodimma’s tenure.
Mr Ebere, the immediate past APC state chairman and current board chairman of the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos State, made the call in an interview on Thursday in Abuja.
Mr Ebere said Imo APC needs to make a winning case to the people of Imo by highlighting the ongoing achievements of Mr Uzodimma’s administration.
According to him, elections should not be reduced to a mere change of government but a deliberate choice about who continues and what comes next.
He noted that when Mr Uzodimma assumed office in January 2020, the state was insolvent and almost ungovernable—with debt stock exceeding N280 billion, internally generated revenue below N400 million monthly, a demoralised civil service, and a Government House that could not host government functions.
“The 3R Government of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery was, therefore, not politics. It was a vehicle to save Imo,” Mr Ebere said.
Mr Ebere argued that after six years, the dividends of those difficult decisions are measurable and must not be truncated.
According to him, in infrastructure, more than 150 roads have been delivered across the Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe zones.
“These roads include the landmark reconstruction of Owerri-Orlu, Owerri-Okigwe, Owerri-Mbaise-Umuahia, Toronto-Orji, MCC-Toronto-Uratta and Orlu-Nkume-Umuowa corridors. The Maria Assumpta Flyover, Owerri and Owerri urban renewal, among others, have reduced the intra-state travel time from two to three hours to less than 45 minutes.
“Again, through financial discipline, the monthly IGR has grown from N400 million to over N5 billion, while total debt has been reduced from over N280 billion to less than N90 billion. Imo today builds roads from its revenue, not from overdrafts to pay salaries,” he said.
Mr Ebere said the Orashi Power Plant and the Light-up Imo initiative have restored steady public power to sections of Owerri and created a template for statewide power distribution and industrialisation.