Before serving Imo State in the RebuildImo administration of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ogbuagu Emeka Ihedioha, I was an Imo citizen, who had been serving Imo people with my profession as a journalist/writer. In fact, it was my work, as I was later told, that earned me a place in the star-studded lineup and formation of Team Ihedioha.
So, the impression that whatever I write now is at the instance of Ihedioha is a sarcastic misjudgement. More so when, as it would unjustly please the Supreme Court of Nigeria, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator Hope Uzodimma, Rt. Hon. Ihedioha is no longer the governor of Imo State.
I feel the time has come when I should be allowed to express myself on a more serious note as of old. For crying out loud, I’ve always had a mind of my own. And even while serving in the Government of Imo State, I often looked at issues most dispassionately, insisting on reporting only the truth.
Take, for instance, the fake news now making the rounds, that Senator Hope Uzodimma reinstated some 3,500 workers that were “sacked” by Ihedioha. It’s fake news because I am very much aware that on no occasion did Ihedioha order or approve the sack of even a single worker in Imo State within his award-winning seven months in office.
Pray, if Ihedioha sacked 3,500 Imo State workers, would Imo people require Uzodimma of just yesterday to tell them about it? There is no way Ihedioha could have relieved 3,500 Imo workers of their jobs and the news wouldn’t have made front page news on national newspapers and gone viral online. In fact, Imo people would have gone on a statewide protest against that!
It’s therefore most preposterous that Uzodimma woke up to further deceive and mislead the people of Imo State by uncouthly and unconscionably announcing that he ordered the reinstatement of “3,500 Imo workers sacked by Ihedioha”!
I challenge anybody, including Senator Uzodimma, to provide any proof that at any point in time, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, in his capacity as Imo State governor, ordered the sack of even one Imo worker, living, dead or ghost, in the spectacular seven months he spent in office.
And where that can’t be proved with evidence, then Uzodimma lied to Imo people and other members of the public, and should retract it and apologise to Ihedioha and Imo people.
As an Imolite, one thing I am so sure Imo people don’t want is a governor that thrives on peddling lies, falsehood propaganda and blackmail against his political opponents in order to curry unmerited and undeserved favour from the people.
Imo people suffered that ignoble leadership-by-lying style from 2011 to 2019 under the watch of ex-Governor Rochas Okorocha. Today, Okorocha is enjoying his life, with his family and friends, while Imo people are still suffering for believing his mountain of lies, falsehood and propaganda at the time.
In his second month or sixty days in office so far, Uzodimma can’t start governing Imo State and Imo people with lies. Yet, because of his penchant for contorting or distorting the truth about the short tenure of Rt. Hon. Ihedioha in Douglas House, Uzodimma seems resolved to rule Imo by lies, falsehood and propaganda.
It will be better for Ndimo to verify whatever they hear from their governor at any point in time before accepting or rejecting it. The era of swallowing every word hook, line and sinker because it came from the governor must be over and done with by now in Imo State.
Let Ndimo beware of their governor and ask vital questions so that the terrible governorship experiences of 2011-2019 don’t repeat themselves.
It maybe necessary to report that never did Governor Ihedioha order the sack of any Imo worker. Rather, he was about ratifying the homonguous number of workers in the State Civil Service, when it dawned him through the witnessing of Imo NLC chairman, Austin Chilakpu, that there were over 5,000 illegal workers smuggled into the staff roll of the State Civil Service by Okorocha after the governorship election.
Ihedioha then withheld his imprimatur on the staff roll and ordered the concerned Permanent Secretaries, the Accountant-General, the Head of Service, and the NLC Chairman to work as a Committee and rectify what was the issue with the staff roll of the State Civil Service. At no time did he order or approve the sack of anybody.
Imo people are not all ghosts. And we can’t all be wrong. If there’s anybody who has evidence that Ihedioha sacked him or her, let such a man, woman or youth speak up now, and provide the evidence or keep silent forever hereafter. At least, the purportedly sacked 3,500 workers are Imo people. Let them come out and prove how Ihedioha sacked them.
Then also, let the relevant permanent secretaries, the accountant-general, the Head of Service, and NLC chairman, bare their own accounts to prove how, when and why Ihedioha ordered for the sack of 3500 workers.
The last thing Ihedioha did about the status of the “illegal workers” or “ghost workers” before he stepped aside was that he ordered a thorough determination of who and who are the authentic staff of the State Civil Service. That’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
On a more serious note, it will be very nice if Senator Uzodimma learns to choose his diction appropriately. On a number of times, his choice of words has portrayed him as having penchant for being too economical with the truth. That’s not good enough for the people of Imo State. The time to nip such bad leadership character and conduct is now!