Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo says the state is on the path to economic progress with his administration’s push for stable power supply.
The governor spoke on Thursday when he hosted the 2025 Imo State Economic Summit in Owerri which was attended by dignitaries from Nigeria and beyond.
“There will be no more generator economics, no more production downtime, no more excuses. Yes, we will guarantee 24/7 electricity supply to the state,” he said.
According to him, while security and roads are nice things to have, they are not “enough” to reposition the economy of the state.
“Not Sustainable”
“You need to address the single biggest bottleneck to industrialisation in Nigeria, which is power — or energy, as some people prefer to call it,” the governor said at the event.
“You can have the best location. You can have the best workforce, the best market access, and the best roads. But without reliable electricity, you will stagnate.”
Noting that many businesses and industrial operators spend scarce resources on power generation, the governor believes such is not sustainable.
“It is common knowledge that industrial operators in Nigeria spend more money on power generation than they do on salaries. This is not sustainable,” Uzodimma said, listing the Light-Up Imo Project as his government’s plan to address the “concern”.
‘A Game Changer’
“By the end of this month, we will launch Phase One of the Light-Up Imo project. This has shifted from the realm of promise to the realm of reality. The infrastructure for this is already in place,” the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), said
“When those switches eventually flip, greater parts of the state will receive a steady 24-hour power supply from our own indigenous power and electricity company — the Electricity Company of Nigeria.
“The first phase will begin with the metropolis, while the next phase will connect durable electricity to the 27 local government areas of the state. This is a game changer.”
Thursday’s event attracted guests like Vice President Kashim Shettima who represented President Bola Tinubu; the President of Liberia, Joseph Boakai; ex-British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; ex-United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon; the Chairman of the Dangote Group; Aliko Dangote and the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun among others.