POLITICS
PDP, APC Trade Words over Gov. Uzodinma’s Scorecard in Three Years
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo have disagreed over Gov. Hope Uzodimma’s scorecard within three years in office.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov.
Uzodimma assumed office on Jan. 14, 2020, following a judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed his victory at the 2019 governorship election in the state.While the PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr Collins Opurozor, said Uzodimma’s three years were enmeshed in economic stagnation, mass penury, insecurity and infrastructural decay, the APC Publicity Secretary, Mr Cajetan Duke, dismissed the statement.
In a statement signed by the PDP publicity secretary and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri, Opurozor argued that the greatest casualties of Gov. Uzodimma’s emergence are the Imo people.
He alleged that Uzodimma had, in the past three years, worked so hard to ensure that all the institutions of democracy in the state are dismantled and full-blown dictatorship firmly established.
Opurozor further claimed that bloodshed, poor healthcare, collapse of education, dearth of agricultural productivity, conscription of the political space and violation of human rights have become the order of the day.
“For instance, the local government system, which is a mechanism put in place to expand and sustain the democratic space and spread democratic values, has been destroyed in Imo State.
“This is a huge tragedy! Imo is a state that has over 70 per cent of her entire population living in the rural areas.
“Yet, the only channel through which governance can be delivered to the people has been completely run aground,” he contended.
Opurozor also claimed that in last 36 months, Uzodinma had received from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) a total of N180.6 billion meant for the Local Governments in the state.
“Today, there is nothing on ground that shows that even a kobo has gotten to the Local Government Areas.
“Sen. Hope Uzodimma must, without any further delay, tell Imo people where he kept the N180.6 billion belonging to the Local Governments,” he said.
He argued that Uzodimma had made incessant borrowings a state policy which had plunged the state into irredeemable debt slavery.
According to him, Imo is currently the most indebted Igbo state, with a debt profile which stands at N220 billion.
“That means that the regime of Sen. Uzodinma has doubled the debt profile in less than three years and the fundamental question is: What has the regime done with over N100 billion it has borrowed so far?”
He said in spite of the borrowings, Uzodimma had made no effort at re-jigging investments in the hugely vital agro-industrial sector where Imo has major comparative advantage.
“What Senator Uzodinma really needs to explain to Imo people is how he diverted a whopping sum of N56 billion on the pretence of constructing the 36-kilometer Owerri-Orlu road.
“Does the administration in Imo want the people to believe that a kilometer of road was done at the rate of N1.5 billion?
“This same Craneburg Construction Company, which works for Uzodinma, has also done the Lekki-Epe Road in Lagos State and the Ibadan Circular Road in Oyo State.
“In both instances, even drainages and terrains rougher than Imo, the cost never exceeded N450 million per kilometer, but in Uzodinma’s Imo, the cost of a single kilometer of road by the same company suddenly became N1.5 billion,” he said.
Opurozor estimated that the 2023 budget revenue of the state would be sourced from FAAC, 13 per cent derivation, internally generated revenue, intervention grants would amount to N120.6 billion.
He maintained that Gov. Uzodimma is already planning to spend N475 billion within the year with the deficit of N354 billion which would be raised through borrowings.
“The loans would be solely dedicated to expanding Uzodimma’s political war chest and financing sundry other electoral malpractices, including massive vote buying.
“Already, agents of Imo APC have started distributing forms, requesting for bank accounts and PVC details of Imo voters so as to commence the first phase of this brazen electoral fraud,” he alleged.
He claimed that the party had intercepted credible intelligence about the planned role which the Uzodinma-backed Ebubeagu Militia would play in this process of derailing democracy in the state.
He therefore urged the Inspector-General of Police to immediately disband Ebubeagu Militia, claiming that since Ebubeagu began its operations in the state, insecurity, killings, abductions and arson have risen astronomically.
But dismissing the claims however, the APC Publicity Secretary, Mr Cajetan Duke, said the PDP should rather praise Uzodimma for the giant strides of development in the past three years.
Duke said: “We are glad today that the opposition PDP has confirmed by the contents of their press conference of the reconstruction of the Owerri-Orlu road.
“Their argument on the cost of the project is neither here nor there!
“PDP should stop reminding Imolites of their seven months illegal occupation of Douglas House and the unimaginable looting of our common patrimony.
“When they talk about the January 14th, 2020, landmark judgment of the Supreme Court, Imo PDP validates our position that the insecurity in the state is politically contrived,” he added.
Duke contended that the PDP’s argument on borrowing had reduced opposition politics to a roadside gossip as borrowing to fund investment in the critical sector of the economy was not a crime.
“Almost three years in office, nobody, including the opposition PDP, has accused Gov. Hope Uzodimma of converting public wealth to personal and private uses.
“No one has accused the governor of building a new house or renovating his old house in the village.
“Nobody has accused Uzodimma of appropriating any public land or asset to himself or any member of his family since inception of this administration,” he argued.
The APC publicity secretary further described PDP’s accusation of borrowing money to compromise the forthcoming general elections as an “acknowledgement of defeat”.
He said Imo PDP was only intimidated by the popularity of the APC-led shared prosperity administration of Gov. Hope Uzodimma.
“Their strategy is to do everything humanly possible to discredit the outcome of the forthcoming election.
“While they were busy labouring, albeit in vain, to undermine this administration, the Supreme Court, today nullified the Imo West senatorial primaries of the PDP,” he added. (NAN)
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over a purported anti-North statement allegedly attributed to him.
A viral statement allegedly quoted Akpabio as threatening that Northerners would suffer if President Bola Tinubu lost the 2027 presidential election.
Special Assistant to the President of the Senate on Media, Jackson Udom, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja.
Udom said the petition, signed by the Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, urged the DSS to urgently investigate the dissemination of the alleged false, inflammatory and divisive statement.
He said the graphic, bearing Akpabio’s photograph and designation, attributed the following words to him: ‘Northerners you will be the ones to suffer the most if you allow Tinubu to lose the election.’
“Unequivocally, the President of the Senate did not make this statement.
“No date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recordings, official statement or credible news report has been produced to authenticate it.
“The graphic carries no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source,” he said.
Udom said the statement appeared to have been deliberately manufactured and presented as an authentic quotation for the purpose of deceiving unsuspecting members of the public.
He said those behind the scheme intended to provoke regional resentment against Akpabio and portray him as threatening people in the Northern part of the country.
According to him, preliminary examination of publicly accessible Facebook records identified some persons as among the earliest traceable amplifiers of the purported fabricated graphic.
He listed the persons as Abdullai Musa, who posted the graphic in a Facebook group styled ‘Sheik Muhammad bin Uthman Group 24”.
Others were Uzoma Chilaka, whose Facebook post allegedly reproduced the graphic commentary expressly credited to him, and Ibrahim Ammar, a verified Facebook account that subsequently reproduced the graphic and similar commentary.
“These persons should not be presumed guilty before investigation.
“Nevertheless, their early and substantial roles in circulating the material make them persons of interest, who may possess information capable of identifying the graphic designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and distribution network,” he said.
Udom said their publication records, devices, communications and the provenance of the image should therefore be investigated in accordance with the law. (NAN)
By David Torough, Abuja
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has commended the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) for its strides in innovation and technological development, assuring the agency of the Federal Government’s continued support.
Akume gave the commendation on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in Abuja when he received NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, members of his management team and winners of the agency’s Innovation Assessment and Award Competition.
The SGF described NASENI’s inter-agency and intra-agency innovation competition for federal civil and public servants and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as a significant milestone in efforts to develop home-grown solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
He said the innovative products emerging from the competition could have significant implications for national security, food sovereignty and healthcare, adding that the achievements demonstrated the depth of talent and ingenuity among young Nigerians.
“Nigeria has talents. I don’t doubt about that. Wherever you go in the world, Nigerians are recognized as people with lot of talents and people with a great future,” Akume said.
He also praised NASENI for adopting what he described as a transparent and non-partisan process in selecting and assessing the innovations, saying the credibility of the competition would encourage more Nigerians to come forward with innovative ideas.
Akume expressed optimism that sustained government support could enable Nigeria to attain greater technological heights, including developing advanced aerospace capabilities.
“Tomorrow, who knows, Nigeria can manufacture rockets that can send people to the moon. And this can be the courtesy of NASENI,” he said.
Earlier, Halilu said the award programme was designed to identify and recognise outstanding contributions by civil and public servants through both inter-agency and intra-agency competitions.
He said NASENI’s innovation strategy goes beyond developing technological products to equipping innovators with skills needed to commercialise their ideas successfully.
According to him, technical and engineering expertise must be complemented by competencies in accounting, marketing and business development for innovations to achieve their full potential.
Halilu disclosed that NASENI had, in about two years, facilitated the establishment of 20 factories across the country and developed more than 40 products as part of efforts to transform research and innovation into commercially viable solutions.
He added that the agency had also introduced programmes aimed at identifying and nurturing innovators from an early age. One of the initiatives, the Future Makers Programme, targets children between five and 15 years to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering and innovation.
The meeting also featured demonstrations by representatives of two of the six winners of the innovation competition.
A team from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) showcased a security jacket equipped with technology designed to facilitate real-time communication with the command-and-control centres of security agencies, potentially improving coordination and response.
The winning team from NASENI, meanwhile, presented a commercial electronic platform designed to serve as a digital marketplace through which MDAs can promote and market their goods and services.
Akume congratulated NASENI and the winners of the competition, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for research, innovation and technological development in Nigeria.
From Ayinde Akintade, Osogbo
The All Progressives Congress has taken Osun state Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election to court as the petition is now on the notice board of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.
The papers went up on Monday, 7 September.
Tribunal secretary Pefe Belemore had said the notices would be displayed before noon. Secretariat staff were already in the courtroom as preparations for sitting continued.Two petitions challenge the 15 August result that returned Adeleke for another term.
The APC case, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, was filed by its candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, against Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The Peoples Democratic Party case, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was filed by Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola against Adeleke, INEC and Accord.
Display of the petitions is a procedural step. The parties must still be served before full hearing begins. Adeleke remains the declared winner. The detailed grounds of each petition have not been published. The tribunal has not issued a ruling.
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