The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, Hon. Cajetan Duke has said that Senator Hope Uzodinma remains the better option to pilot the affairs of the state for another four years, saying the Uzodinma government has done more in the last 30 months than 16 years of ex-governor Achike Udenwa, Rochas Okorocha, and Emeka Ihedioha's 8 months in office.
While citing some of the achievements of the Uzodinma-led government, Duke said beyond the Sam Mbakwe-led administration, no administration has done half of what Uzodimma has done in 30 months in the area of the road network and physical infrastructure among others.
In this interview conducted by Tunji Adedeji, the Publicity Secretary of the ruling APC Imo State chapter analyzed why his party would cruise home to victory come the 2023 general elections.
INTERVIEW :
Q: Can you introduce yourself, please tell us your name and designation sir.
Ans: My name is Cajetan Duke. I'm the State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State. And I was the Director General of APC Media Centre, Imo State where to the glory of God I discharged my responsibilities creditably to the admiration of party stakeholders, men, and women that I was elected the Publicity Secretary during congresses last year.
Q: What is your assessment of the 3R government, do you think Governor Uzodimma deserves a second tenure?
Ans: You evaluate a man, an organization, or a government based on policies and social contracts with the people he or she governs. Governor Hope Uzodimma promised Imo people prosperity anchored on 3 cardinal points of reconstruction, rehabilitation, and recovery.
He has justified the confidence reposed in him by the Imo people by meeting the social contract within thirty months of his administration. Gov. Uzodinma said he was going to recover for Imolites all public properties and assets hitherto converted to personal uses by public administrators before his administration, and Governor Hope Uzodimma, without considering the political implication of stepping on big toes, pursued vigorously the implementation of a White-Paper report on the recovery of government properties and he has systematically, without much ado, recovered government properties hitherto converted to public uses by those who were there before him and returned same the rightful owners.
That is keeping the promise.And Governor Hope Uzodimma said he is going to rehabilitate dilapidated, moribund infrastructures in the state. Today, he has recovered the Standard Shoe Industry built by the first democratically elected Governor of Imo State, Dee Sam Mbakwe, of the blessed memory, paid outrightly #1.6b to APCOM to be able to recover that particular property, recovered Aharaubo Farm Settlement, Imo Ceramic Industry, Adapalm, Imo Water Scheme. He has rehabilitated all these. In the area of reconstruction, I want to tell you that, beyond the Mbakwe-led administration, no administration has done half of what Uzodimma has done in 30 months in the area of the road network and physical infrastructure. He has today restored Imo State as a world city-state - that you can travel from Orlu to Owerri within 15 minutes, courtesy of the dualization of the road Owerri/Orlu Road totaling over 55 kilometers with street lighting. No Governor since 1999 to date has done a singular project of that magnitude. He has done the first phase of over 18 kilometers of Owerri/Okigwe Road and arrested the impassable spot of Ekemele Junction along Owerri/Okigwe Road. Before now in 8/years, the Ekemele Spot was a nightmare to motorists and others assessing Imo State through that axis for more than 8 years that Spot defied all the imperfections of the state government. But today, to the credit of this administration. And the Governor is still on that road, the 2nd or 3rd phase of that road.
He has commenced the dualization and rehabilitation and reconstruction of Owerri/Umuahia Road popularly known as Owerri/Mbaise Road. As I speak to you, that project is ongoing. If these roads are the only thing Uzodimma had combined 8 years of Achike Udenwa, Rochas Okorocha, and 8 months of Emeka Ihedioha illegal administration. For 12 years Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH) Orlu, lost accreditation and on that strength could not graduate medical students within 30 months of Uzodimma's administration, IMSUTH was not only restored the accreditation, but has been able to graduate 5 sets of medical doctors.
As I speak to you today, I do not want to talk about inter city roads rehabilitated by the Governor. Let me also tell you that the traffic congestion in the city of Owerri was a nightmare, but through his Urban Renewal Project. Uzodimma restored traffic sanity in the state. No body is talking about that. The truth of the matter is Governor Hope Uzodimma is a silent achiever who believes that people appreciate what he is doing. He believes that it is not normal for him to blow his trumpet given that the people appreciate what he is doing. And this is a social contract he signed with the people of the state. He achieved all these in the face of natural and man made obstacles. You can also recall that when he came on board he witnessed a lot of oppositions by PDP- immediately we are about to settle down from the protest, we had Covid-19, when we were trying to come out of the Covid-19, we had issue of the insecurity. All these things were targeted at undermining the credibility of 3r government. The opposition swore they would make the government ungovernable, but contrary to their expectations and calculations, Uzodimma had become the most populous Governor of the state. He speaks less, his action speaks volume of him.Contrary to the propaganda of the opposition, there is one thing very clear that has distinguished the Governor among others.
No body, not even the opposition, had accused the Governor of converting public assets, properties to his private use. No body can accuse Uzodimma of appropriating a plot of land. No body had accused him of using his family or friends to convert public properties. No body had accused him of running a family business in the state. You cannot name one public building being marked belonging to Uzodimma's brother, sister, wife or son or daughter.
Show me one piece of land belonging to Uzodimma or any of his family members or friends gotten wrongly in the state.
Uzodimma has renovated 305 schools in the 27 LGAs of Imo State. How did he get the money to do all these projects? All road construction going on across the state, the physical project he is undertaking in the state is being done by a well known world class construction company. Uzodimma meant business in Imo State.
Uzodimma is really working. People will see it during Christmas and New Year celebrations. Our party, our candidates, are going to use his achievements as a score card to win the 2023 election. Of course, we have done Owerri/Orlu Road with street lights, making traffic on that particular road more easier and enjoyable to motorists and pedestrians.
You must conquer insatiable quest for wealth before you come into public office and I can proudly tell you that Uzodimma has conquered greed.
30 months in office, you cannot accuse him of renovating or building new house unlike Emeka Ihedioha who renovated his house in Owerri, in his village and started building new ones including his controversial hotel.
Ihedioha was never a governor. It was an illegal occupation at Douglas House. He will be governor after Uzodimma had ruled for 8 years. Uzodimma has credibility more than Ihedioha.
Q: As the chieftain of the party in Imo State, how prepared is APC to face the 2023 election?
Ans: APC is the only political party that has shown enormous evidence of preparedness. Our party is the most vibrant, feasible, and attractive party in Imo State. The emergence of Hon. MacDonald Ebere led state executive of the party has brought life, youthful energy, and dynamism into the management and administration of the political organization in the state. Unlike other political, APC is on the road to engaging with party men and women across levels and the local governments. We are on a local government tour (town hall meeting) engaging with party leaders of various 27 LGAs, trying to ascertain the level of preparedness of our party in these LGAs. When you look at the achievements of Governor Hope Uzodimma-led administration, we are the party to beat and we have not even seen any opposition coming to where we are operating because we are far ahead of time.
Q: How do you rate the Imo State Government led by Gov. Uzodimma's performance on security in the state?
Ans: The primary responsibility of government is the protection of life and property of citizens of the state. Governor Hope Uzodimma had committed more than 60% of resources in beefing up security architecture in the state. He had responded swiftly to the issue of insecurity in Imo, when you are confronted with an unusual circumstance, the first thing you so is to draw back and understudy the development, the issue, underlining factors propelling agitations. But you ask yourself what is the issue of Unknown Gunmen in Imo State.
It is nothing, but aggrieved politicians trying to hide under the ravaging Biafra agitation. Imo is not known for Biafra agitation. Imo is a civilized state. We are not part of the agitation here. People are trying to ridicule the state government, vent their anger, to humiliate the state government, to instigate state of emergency against the administration, mobilize hoodlums to begin to agitate what is not feasible. And we were confronted with the issue of Unknown Gunmen, you were aware that the Prisons, the Correctional Centre Facilities here was attacked. You were aware of indiscriminate and senseless killings and I tell you that all things were targeted at APC and its government. Those who lost their lives in places like Orsu, Orlu, Njaba, Oru East were known to be APC. We have lost more than 25 Ward Chairmen of our party to this issues of insecurity.
How many has PDP lost, nil. How do you think that the state government instigated insecurity in the state where members of APC are killed. It is not possible. So, they did these things to create fear in the state to disorganize and disorient APC led administration in Imo. But Uzodimma has shown them that he is a bona fide son of Imo State, the chief security officer of the state. Today he has arrested the situation and peace has been restored. We had toured the 23 out of the 27 LGAs, contrary to the anticipation of the opposition and to tell you Uzodimma had restored peace in Imo.
The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria had its annual conference in Orlu, the Nigerian Police, few weeks ago had their security summit in the state, the Armef Forces also had a summit here in the state, the Nigeria Guild of Editors is also having their program in Imo. So, Uzodimma had retired Imo as a hospitality hub, not only in south East, but Nigeria as a whole. Peace has returned, commercial activities are also returned.
Q: Can you tell us the chances of the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, do you think he has all it takes to move Nigeria forward considering his age ?
Ans: The chances that Tinubu will emerge victorious in 2023 general election is very real because the most united, creative political party is APC which today has 22 states, and the 22 governors are on the same page with the party and its Presidential Candidate, unlike the PDP where the 5 governors are on the other side. When you talk about the capacity, you talk about the antecedents. The 3 major Presidential Candidates of the 3 major political parties, Tinubu, being a senator, 2 term Governor of Lagos State, is the best. You look at where they are coming from in terms of governance; distribution of common wealth and resources in terms of building men and women, living legacies that surpass their kind, what we are looking for in 2023:is where someone who will administer and distribute scare resources. And when you look at their antecedents, you juxtapose what Tinubu did in Lagos State, and what Peter Obi did in Anambra State for 8 years as governor. Obi was a governor of the opposition party, APGA, Tinubu was governor of Lagos State under under AD, an opposition party for 8 years, but only built Lagos to become an exemplary state. He sustained and built Lagos even when PDP and their anti democratic tendencies did everything humanly possible to take Lagos by all means, Tinubu, because of his antecedents, was able to sustain Lagos State AD as a political party into ACN, from ACN he was able to convert the South West into a zonal or regional enclave of ACN. Obi had the platform of APGA for 8 years, he could not attract APGA to Imo, Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States- within 8 years, Tinubu was able to ACN into a regional political movement. Within 8 years Obi left Government House and joined PDP. Tinubu left Government House as governor of AD and was able to nurture and mobilize his people to remain in opposition party until they were able to form a national party, APC.
Obi is a business man, every business man, especially those of Anambra, is interested to maximize public assets for personal profit. Tinubu is a born practical public person, whose interest is how to distribute scarce mass resources for the maximum benefit of the people. That is why in Anambra, the only legacy Obi left is Hero and Super Market.
Atiku Abukakar is not even in the race. As Vice President, he was allowed to manage the economy of Nigeria, but he was bent at privatizing some of the government institutions, bound them through the backdoor. So, we know the market will be from the morning. We are convinced that Tinubu, having set a standard in Lagos, built a foundation so that Lagos is bigger than some countries in Africa- he built Lagos on the path of prosperity where successive governments make huge resources for the wellbeing of their people.
We are convinced that Tinubu is coming to replicate what he did in Lagos, we believe if Tinubu could appoint people who are not from Lagos State in his administration, Aregbeshola was Commissioner, Fayemi was Commissioner, Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed was Commissioner under him. He is an embodiment of goodness and intellectual leader who was able to hunt and fish men of resources, of calibre to serve in Lagos State. We are convinced that if given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of Nigeria, Tinubu would not mind where you are coming from, he will look at what you have to offer, what you can bring on the table.
He is a detribalize Nigerian. He is not a religious bigot - the only Muslim whose wife is a pastor, only Muslim who has only one wife. Peter Obi cannot marry a Muslim. Atiku cannot tolerate living with a Christian woman as a wife in his house. Tinubu is the kind of President we want and has demonstrated capacity to engage new talents.
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