In his New Year's Day speech, the governor of Imo State urged the populace to "make a collective resolution to work together" in the new year in order to pursue peace, harmony, and growth.
He said that greater money for new equipment and law enforcement training would enable the security situation in the state to continue to improve this year.
The "few unrepentant godless individuals and their backers," he cautioned, were doing so at their own expense by continuing to sow unrest and bloodshed throughout the state.
Imo State will be less hazardous in 2019 and, according to Uzodinma, would be better in every manner than it was in 2018.
All Imo State voters have been asked by the governor to exercise patience and conduct a peaceful election in 2023.
He said: “I do not want our state to be in the election news for all the bad reasons. Let us go out peacefully and elect the candidates of our choice.”
Peace, he told them, must always be the ultimate aim, and the interest and welfare of Imo State must always come first.
After signing the N474.4 billion budget for FY2023, the governor expressed confidence that the state was ready to begin operations.
He explained that the budget’s name, “the Budget of Wealth Expansion,” indicates its goal: to boost the state’s economy by allocating more money to sectors like security, agriculture, education, and transportation.
In his opinion, nothing can stand in the way of Imo achieving its developmental goals for the year with a capital spend of N373 billion, which is almost 72 per cent of the overall budget.
He stated, “This is a year to watch because it is a year that Imo people will look back on and further appreciate this administration for keeping faith with our social contract with the people. Today, even our worst critics will acknowledge the huge difference between the Imo State of today and the Imo State we inherited in 2020”.
He credited my team’s diligence, selflessness, honesty, wisdom, and doggedness in carrying out their duties for the state’s dramatic improvement.
Uzodinma stated God’s blessings rewarded the government’s small efforts because of the people’s support and prayers.
The governor reassured the populace that the government had successfully dealt with the last of the security threats and banditry the previous year and that the few surviving kingpins of banditry had been apprehended and were now dancing to the tune of the law.
He said: “To the glory of God, security agencies were able to act with greater precision in confronting banditry as witnessed in the foiled attempt to burn the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Owerri. So, on the whole, I can assure you that we are on top of the situation and Imo is relatively safer each year. Clear evidence of this is that no incident of insecurity was reported in the state during the festive season.”
The governor has expressed optimism that this year will see the completion of the Oguta to Okposo Orlu Road, the Orlu-Mgbee-Akokwa Road, and the Oguta-Owerri Road.
He claimed that connecting the two signature highways that have already been built with these vital thoroughfares will stimulate business activity and, in turn, the state’s economy.