Battle For Imo: Why APC won’t win 2027 polls – Okoroma

…Says insecurity, poor infrastructure driving businesses away from state

….‘Education, LG system have collapsed’

By Nnamdi Ojiego

Despite Imo State government’s claims of improved security, massive road construction, and an ambitious plan to provide 24-hour electricity,

the African Democratic Congress, ADC, says the state is still struggling to attract investment because of insecurity, poor infrastructure, and what it describes as the collapse of critical sectors.

In this interview, the Imo State Chairman of the ADC, James Okoroma, argues that while the administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma deserves credit for some projects in Owerri, rural communities have been neglected and public education and local government administration have deteriorated. He insists that the opposition has the structure and public support to unseat the ruling APC in the 2027 elections. Excerpts:

The Imo State government says it has transformed the state through massive road construction, improved security, and investment in electricity and healthcare. As an opposition leader, what is your honest assessment of the administration’s performance?

I think the Imo State government has done well in some areas, and there’s still room for improvement in several other areas. In the city centre, that is, Owerri metropolis, I can see some roads under construction or reconstruction. The government is doing some commendable work within Owerri. I want to be honest.

We can’t write the government off in that area, I mean, within Owerri. But in the rural areas, there’s a collapse of infrastructure in the rural areas. In most villages, there are no access roads. So that is my take on that.

What would you say has been the biggest failure of Uzodimma’s administration and what would your side do differently?

Well, we will transform the state. We will rebuild. There’s a collapse of education. Public schools in the state have collapsed. Many schools in the last four, five, six years have not been renovated. You see dilapidated infrastructure everywhere. And there are villages today where people don’t send their children to public schools. Even the poorest people in our villages are looking for private schools where they can send their children because of security, collapse of infrastructure, poor motivation of teachers, and even poor motivation of pupils and students in our schools. So we believe when we take over as a party, when the ADC takes over, we will reconstruct, we will rebuild the state. We will build our education and ensure that teachers are better motivated.

You give them incentives that can make them pay more attention to the education of our children. In public schools today, you see teachers are engaging in other forms of businesses because of poor motivation. And we will also look at the curriculum. We want to produce citizens that can compete internationally. The world is now digital. We have a digital economy. The global economy is largely digital now. We must produce people who can compete at that level internationally. So we look at education and equip our children with the ICT, not the ones you read about in newspapers. We will make computers, make these things available in all our schools, from primary school level. So we will look at education and then look at the curriculum and ensure that we transform it in line with the global best standard.

The government insists that insecurity has reduced significantly and that Imo is no longer a no-go area. Does this reflect the reality on the ground from your perspective?

I want to be honest. It used to be very, very bad. There’s some improvement, but we need to do more, and then ensure that our young people are taken off the streets or off the bushes, because most of them are aggrieved. The ADC government will engage in constructive engagement with non-state actors to ensure that there is absolute peace. There are still some areas where you witness skirmishes from time to time and in the absence of peace and security, you can’t talk about development. If you come to Imo, you see that there is little or no foreign direct investment. People are not investing. No investment in any area. You can’t attract investment because of insecurity. So we’ll look at that and ensure that we restore investor confidence in the economy of the state.

The administration has repeatedly denied allegations of tampering with local government funds and says there is no evidence to support such claims. What is your position on the issue of local government autonomy in Imo State?

Well, if they are not tampering with local government funds, visit the local governments and see if there’s any form of development. And then find out. It is common knowledge. Under the FOI Act, Freedom of Information Act, you can access information, find out how much local government councils are collecting, and then compare what they are collecting with the level of development in the rural areas. Most of the roads have been cut off from modernity.

There’s no infrastructure, no security, no engagement of any type. So I don’t know what they’re doing with their money. So if they say they are not tampering, then let the local government councils tell you what they’re doing with the allocations they are getting from the federation account. I must tell you that the local government administration system has collapsed. It has collapsed. There’s nothing to point at and say this is the achievement.

How would you rate the administration’s performance in areas such as youth employment, healthcare, and economic opportunities, beyond physical infrastructure?

I have told you now that there are no investments anymore. It is when you invest that you generate employment. Is it not so? And you know that the private sector employs more people than the public sector. But there is no incentive to investment in the state.

There is no power. There is no security. There is collapse of infrastructure. How do you invest? It is when these things are, these factors are on ground that you can attract investments that will generate employment. So there’s no sector that is doing well.

Talking about power, the state government says it is on course to provide 24-hour electricity through the Orashi electricity project and you are saying there is no investment in power?

No, I didn’t. Listen, I said there is, I’m sure, I know that the government is investing in that area. And I hear that the Orashi power project will be in phases, that power will be supplied in phases but where I live in Owerri, there’s no electricity in the last five days. So I don’t know when it will get to my own area. I’ve heard that power will soon come but I’m telling you that where I live, there’s no power in the last five days.

From your point of view, are you saying that the much-talked about 24-hour electricity project is not realistic?

I’ve not said that. I’ve not said it is not realistic. I hear that in some areas in Owerri, there is improvement in power supply. But there are still areas that have not experienced this improvement in power supply. It is my hope that it will get everywhere in the state. Quote me right! I have said that in some areas, I’ve heard that there’s an improvement in power supply but in many areas, that has not been witnessed. So it is my hope that that improvement will touch everywhere in the state.

So looking ahead to the 2027 elections, what do you think will be the major issues that will shape political campaigns and influence voters in the state?

One, insecurity. The primary function, it is stated in our constitution, and globally, the primary function of every government is to protect life and property. In that area, the present APC-led government has failed. Nobody is safe. The cheapest thing in Nigeria today is human life. And you cannot talk about development when there is no security. All over the country, Nigerians are agitated because they are not secure. As we speak, over 40 of our children are still in the bush in Oyo State. Some of those children are as young as two years.

This is an affront to humanity and an attack on our collective humanity. So insecurity, lack of infrastructure, many roads in Nigeria are impassable, especially in the South-East.
Leadership challenge

Another issue is Education; inadequate attention to education. The United Nations has said that for any nation to develop, it must devote 25% of its annual budget to education. Find out what is the allocation to education this year. Education has not received the attention it deserves in our national scheme of things. And you can’t talk about producing people who can face the challenges of the future, challenges of leadership, when you’re not investing in education. So it is affecting our people. You can see today that Nigerian children are no longer interested in education. They say education is a scam.because all around them, they see those who have gone to universities but have no jobs. There’s no meaningful impact on their lives by the education they have received in Nigerian schools. So education is down. The ADC will come up with a program that will revive Nigerian education, look at the curriculum, and produce citizens who can be competitive globally.

Plot to destroy opposition

Again , when you look at also democracy, no government in the history of Nigeria has undermined democracy the way this government has done. There’s a calculated attempt, there’s a plot to destroy opposition political parties. And this government is doing it. Under Buhari, opposition parties won elections. But under this government, I doubt if that will happen. But if you make peaceful change impossible, you make violence change inevitable, according to John F. Kennedy. If they don’t allow Nigerians to express their democratic rights freely, the main harm that will come, they won’t be able to withstand it.

Do you believe the opposition has the unity, structure, and public support to challenge the ruling APC in 2027?

The only political party that will challenge the APC and win in Imo in 2027 is the ADC. We’re equipped, we’re everywhere. Even those who are in APC know that what they’re doing is not sustainable. They all know that this government cannot withstand the test of time.

We, the ADC will challenge the APC. We’ll give them a run for their money, and we’ll challenge them and defeat them. Atiku will be the next president of Nigeria, by the grace of God, because Nigeria needs change. I’ve not seen a country that is run the way Nigeria is run. We can’t continue this way. My concern is the future of our children. There is no employment; education has collapsed. The health care system is very weak. You have leaders who have nothing to offer, who are clueless in terms of leadership.

And you think that Atiku Abubakar has what it takes to pull Nigeria out of the woods?

Investigate him, check his life. He’s an investor. He has done well. All the businesses Atiku has are doing well. Atiku is an employer of labour. He has invested in every part of Nigeria. He has investments in education, in agriculture, Atiku is everywhere. And those businesses are thriving. They are doing very well. So, with that experience and his political experience, he will do better.