By Comr. Gabriel, Imo State Executive Reporter / South East Head of Operations, youtHouse reporters
The developments that now define Imo State did not start from the onset. To be specific, Imo State was created on February 3, 1976, by General Murtala Muhammed. By August 27, 1991, Abia State was carved out of the old Imo State. Since its creation, 16 leaders have presided over the affairs of the state either as military administrators or civilian governors. Of the sixteen, seven were civilian governors while nine were military. It is needless to list all the names that have presided over Imo State.
The developments in Imo today came mostly under two governors, namely: Sam Mbakwe and Hope Uzodimma. The other civilian governors may have accomplished something but such developments were skewed in one part of the state with nothing to show for the other parts.
Sam Mbakwe, popularly called the “Weeping Governor” because of his penchant to ask for more for Imo State from the Federal Government, was the man who could be described as the father of modern Imo State. Mbakwe presided over the old Imo State comprising the present Imo and Abia states and parts of Ebonyi State. The transformation of Imo State began with him. On assumption of office in 1979, Mbakwe did not waste time to get to work as the state was in a state of comatose but despite all, he proved that governance is all about service and dedication which cuts across several sectors ranging from education, road construction, Infrastructural development, Power supply, Industries, etc. Hence, He set Imo State on the path of incomparable socio-economic development before the administration was sacked in December 1983, just at the onset of his second term in office by the Military junta.
Just like the Dee Sam Mbakwe, Gov. Hope Uzodimma has incarnated to further the dreams and aspirations of a better Imo against all odds. The coming on board of Gov. Hope Uzodimma was like a miracle especially when all hope was lost and thankfully Imo is in better hands.
Like the military administration that did nothing for the state and left office before the coming of Dee Sam, Gov. Hope Uzodimma met nothing on the ground and from scratch started the process of changing the narratives through the 3R mantra initiative and his show of maturity in governance through his continuity plan despite not been in the same party with his predecessor.
Gov. Hope Uzodimma started by getting rid of corruption in the civil service, pension scheme, ISOPADEC and every other sector of the state boosting of the state IGR went into massive road constructions, payment of salaries and pensions, beefing up of the security apparatus, upgrade of the state health sector, standardizing the education system, Industrialization of the state, youth empowerment and Agriculture improvement and many other achievements that are too numerous to mention of a governor that is just one year and few weeks old.
Suffice to say that Gov. Hope Uzodimma is toeing the path of Dee Sam Mbakwe of blessed memory in all ramifications and there is nothing that can make Dee Sam happy even in his grave if not that he has gotten a son in governance in the person of Gov. Hope Uzodimma.
As Imo State celebrates 45 years of its creation and unprecedented development and achievements as a state today, we sincerely appreciate our former leaders both the military and civilian governors, especially all those that served selflessly and were committed to the development of the state above their gains.
Most importantly, we are grateful to God almighty for giving us the person of Sen. Hope Uzodimma as our Governor and just like Joshua in the bible, Gov. Hope Uzodimma has led us into the 45th Anniversary Celebration of the Creation of Imo State in the year of the shared prosperity government which signifies that Imo state is on the right path to greatness and prosperity.
From all of us here, we wish the Governor of Imo State, Dist. Sen. Hope Uzodimma and the entire Imolites a Happy 45th State Creation Anniversary Celebration and pray that our dear state shall continue to witness shared prosperity in all ramifications.