President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja received briefing from Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo on security challenges as well as socio-economic developments in the state.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the closed door meeting, Uzodinma expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the consultations with the president.
“I came to see the president to consult with him and I had a very good consultation and the president received me well.
“I’m satisfied with the quality of discussion I had with him,’’ he said.
The governor revealed that normalcy had been restored in Imo, saying socio-economic activities had resumed across the state.
“So far, the situation is relatively okay in Imo state than it was…. Imo is okay now, people can come around, do their businesses, normal life and normal activities have resumed in Imo state.
“The security agencies are on top of the situation,’’ he said.
Uzodinma, however, solicited for the support and cooperation of all citizens of the state in maintaining law and order in the state, saying he alone could not guarantee security in the state.
He, therefore, stressed the need for other stakeholders including traditional rulers, religious leaders, and politicians, among others to engage more with the people to restore peace in the state.
The governor frowned at those former political office holders, who deliberately failed to speak out against the activities of trouble makers in the state, saying such people were not helping matters and “they have questions to answer’’.
He said if they had been speaking out in condemnation of the unwholesome activities of those destabilising the country, things would have been different.
“I am saying and I want to say it again, that cases of insecurity here and there in the country have not been helped by the posture of opposition party and some aggrieved politicians.
“Reason being that at the time like this in Nigeria, anybody worth his onions as a leader should be able to speak out. How many of them are speaking out? How many of them are condemning what is going on?
“Rather what you see are leaders fanning the embers of insecurity, blaming only government.
“We must be tired of this blame thing by now and then contribute our own quota towards ensuring that national security is not further threatened in the country.
“So it is not something for politics. It’s something that if you are a former senate president, and you are a former speaker, or a former deputy senate president, or a former deputy speaker, and things like this are happening in the country, and you are not able to speak out, and we’re not seeing you where you are engaging in addressing the young men and women in your area on the need for united Nigeria.
“And this is a country that have given you opportunity to serve and that level one time or the other, then it is either overtly or covertly, you have a question to answer.’’
The governor also expressed the hope that more state governors in the opposition parties would soon defect to All Progressives Congress (APC) across the country.
He said: “Not just from the south East, many governors in Nigeria will join the APC, because it’s not only the ruling party, it is the party that is today in government and they have seen in good conscience, speaking honestly, you’ve seen that this government, part of the problem of this government is the deliberate attempt by some group of people to pull down the government.
“Nobody is telling me that this government is not performing, that salaries are not being paid or that the roads are not being constructed or the railway is not going or the various intervention funds to empower our youths are not being given out.
“Nobody has come in concrete terms to accuse this government of one failure or the other.
“All we hear is that herdsmen and farmers are fighting and for that reason 200 people are kidnapped. People are shot down there, people are killed there. What do you want government to do? We must be realistic.
“I believe in pragmatism. I believe in doing things right. Can anybody come and tell me one, two, three, four reasons why this APC should not win in the next election?
“Nobody has said that, I’ve not read either in any newspaper. All I hear is that because of insecurity this, insecurity that but you send people out in the night to go and cause trouble and use it in day to blame government.
He also warned that those who had been destroying government property must be ready to face the consequences. (NAN)
