Imo: 2 Things Uzodimma Should Prioritise after Winning Second Term

The people of Imo state have re-elected Governor Hope Uzodimma, securing a landslide victory by sweeping the votes of the 27 local governments in the state, a victory unprecedented and historic.

Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.

Since the return of democracy in 1999 to Nigeria, no governor has ever recorded such victory in the politics of the southeast state.

In the Saturday, November 11, governorship election in Imo state, Uzodimma, the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), garnered 540,308 votes to knock out his closest rival in the poll, Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 71,503 votes and Labour Party's Athan Achonu who scored 64,081.

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Why Uzodimma was re-elected as Imo governor

The victory of the governor was foreseen by political observers, who argued that the PDP and the Labour Party in the state did not put out a strong contest against the governor, even from the campaigns for the election.

Chukwuka Ofoegbu, also known as Ijele Speaks, a security and public affairs analyst, told Legit.ng that the failure of the PDP started from its primary when Emeka Ihedioha, the former governor of the state, withdrew from the campaign.

He said:

"A political novice visiting the state (Imo) in the weeks, if not months leading to the election, would be forgiven for thinking the election was over and could have easily mistaken the governor's campaigns for post-election rallies."

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However, it is pertinent to note that there are some things that the governor must immediately address as he has been able to secure his second term in office.

Some of the issues are explained below:

Insecurity

Imo is one of the Southeast states being hunted with the activities of unknown gunmen and the menace needed to be arrested with immediate effect.

According to The Punch, no less than 19 security operatives were killed in the state and Anambra between March and September 2023. This is excluded the innocent people attack and businesses disrupted.

Uzodimma's administration can emulate his Katsina counterpart by putting in place state vigilante to curb the activities of unknown gunmen so that Imo can also be business friendly, particularly with the way President Bola Tinubu has been wooing investors in his internation trips.

Workers' welfare

Another urgent issue Uzodimma should address is the welfare of the workers in Imo state.

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Although the governor has explained his side of the story on the allegation that his administration de-employed some workers, which has given room for the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to stage a protest against him few days to election.

Addressing the issue would make future election for the ruling APC easier for the governor and make him have a smooth running in the second term as well.

Source: Legit.ng