A war of words has been recorded between Hope Uzodinma administration and the opposition groups, especially the People Democratic Party.
Following the false publication and sundry allegations leveled against the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the media unit of the government came out smoking hot with a warning that no one should set the State on fire.
Even as the statement from the State government was yet to be received by the public, the main opposition party in the State, the PDP came thundering a warning to the state governor to respect and dignify Imo people.
Unknown sources had used the social media to give a false publication of the Thisday newspaper cover page of last Saturday in which the governor was accused to have made a statement he didn’t make.
Commissioner for Information in the State, Hon Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba warned the opposition against engaging in acts capable of setting the State on fire.
It warned that the arm of the law will be unleased on anyone who for selfish reasons engage in seditions acts that would trigger security crisis in the State.
Emelumba who gave the warning while reaching to the cloning of the Thisday newspaper publication alleging that Uzodinma plans to many out Imo daughters to Fulani herders, described the act as criminal and the height of desperation by the opposition.
He noted that but for the timely intervention of the management of Thisday newspaper which disowned the publication, Imo State would have been on fire by now.
The commissioner said the despicable act was intended by the opposition to ignite crisis between Imo people and a section of the country such that the collateral damage would have been unimaginable.
“I have never in my life witnessed this kind of rascality and desperation for power by a people ready to sacrifice innocent lives to achieve their selfish interest”, Emelumba submitted.
He expressed appreciation to the management of Thisday newspaper for handling the matter swiftly and referring it to the security agencies for proper investigations.
The commissioner said the Government would support every effort aimed at unmasking the criminals with a view to ensuring that they faced the law.
He regretted that the opposition is yet to heal from their loss of power with the result that they are behaving like a bull in a china’s shop.
“But this time, they have crossed the red line. This singular act of faking a national newspaper to blackmail the Governor and the government will forever stand as strong witness of your inglorious signpost as those who are ready to destroy their state for selfish gains . History will judge you, just as you will not escape the long arm of the law” the commissioner assured.
He noted that whereas Governor Hope Uzodinma had been ignoring the insults and blackmail from the opposition, this act of cloning a newspaper to precipitate security breaches would not be tolerated.
He warned those who have been heating up the polity in the state to be be prepared for the consequences as Government would no longer fold its hands watching renegades destroy the state.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State expresses displeasure with the way and manner, Governor Hope Uzodinma has been portraying the name and image of the State in bad light, and dragging it in the mud with inelegant utterances on organs of national and State mass media. This Party frowns at the ugly practice which has characterized the regime since its controversial assumption of office on January 15, 2020.
The recent statements made by Governor Uzodinma on a national television, in which he emphatically said that there was no anti-open grazing law in Imo State, and that the sit-at-home order was not complied with in the State, were unfortunate because they were the direct opposite of the verifiable reality. There is a 2006 law prohibiting open grazing of cattle in Imo State, and also on all the Mondays of the month of August 2021, Imo people have been sitting at home in frightened compliance with the order to sit at home issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
This Party underscores that some people who heeded Governor Uzodinma’s encouragement of Imo people to disregard the sit-at-home order and go about their lawful and legitimate businesses met with untimely deaths as their lives were cut short by unknown gunmen, as they went about their businesses. That was most unfortunate, more so when the governor has continually failed to show any regard or respect to the lives that were lost, by neither visiting the families of the deceased, nor addressing Imo people on the tragic incidents.
Our Party, however, notes with satisfaction that not only has the Imo State House of Assembly (IMHA) confirmed that the anti-open grazing law exists and is functional in the State, but also that Governor Uzodinma himself has, through his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, made a recant of the false statement by the governor, albeit with the claim that he was misquoted by the press.
This Party sincerely takes strong aversion to that conduct of the governor’s in public in which he arrogantly displayed such unpardonable ignorance as to state that Imo State did not have a law prohibiting open grazing of cattle, whereas such a law exists and is equally functional. It is an act that is very capable of worsening the already tarnished image of Imo State and Imo people under the watch of the governor.
Imo PDP, therefore, wants Governor Uzodinma to, as a matter of urgency, apologize to Imo people for making such false statements with emphasis, when he should have kept silent and saved himself, Imo State and Imo people the attendant embarrassment, shame and disgrace.
Our Party warns that such acts and conduct should as much as possible not be repeated, as our State has a history of being educationally and academically blessed with intellectuals, technocrats and professionals, and should not be caught with a governor that makes questionable false statements that are easily punctured and deflated with superior arguments, facts and figures. Governor Hope Uzodinma should henceforth guard against such embarrassing outings and utterances as has characterized his regime this past 20 months.
