The Imo State Government has accused a governorship aspirant in the state of inciting the populace against Governor Hope Uzodimma and his administration. It stated that ever since Sam Amadi conceived the idea of contesting for the governorship, he has been engaging in seditious acts against the government under the guise of campaigns.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, described Amadi’s actions as a “sustained clannish campaign of calumny” against Uzodimma and the administration. He cited Amadi’s recent tirade where he “practically insulted the government for discharging one of its constitutional duties of allocating land for development purposes.”
“Unfortunately, he exposed himself as a man who is out of touch with the realities in the state,” the statement read, adding, “obviously, he has never accessed the Imo master plan to know which areas of the state are designated for what purpose, neither has he taken time to study the Land Use Act to know the powers of a governor, nor what constitutes public interest.”
Emelumba stated that Amadi, who hails from Ngor Okpala Local Government, has gone on to incite the people to challenge the government for allocating the said land, whereas “all due process was followed in the allocation.”
“Instead of telling the people the truth, he has gone ahead to brainwash them and turn it into a clannish matter by saying that an Orlu man wants to dispossess them of their land,” he declared.
“For the purpose of clarity, the government allocated the land to a corporate organisation after due scrutiny of the purpose, which is development and which aligns with public interest. From independence to date, governments have been allocating land to churches, so why is this an issue? Trying to turn it into a clannish squabble shows his lack of knowledge of the workings of government.”
Emelumba further clarified that apart from the church to be built, the organisation is also setting up schools and other facilities, which will generate employment for Imo people and revenue for the government. He described Amadi as being “shallow and mischievous” in his presentation to the people of Ngor Okpala concerning the allocation of the land.
He noted that for a man who seeks to contest the highest office in the state, “he needed to be more circumspect and guarded in his utterances so as not to create a clannish war in the state.”
The Commissioner regretted that since Amadi declared his governorship ambition, he has been “incoherent on his intended policies and programmes if elected.” He remarked, “Apart from criticising the government, he has not marshalled out any coherent policy proposals. What he has said so far is shallow. Maybe that is why he has not gone past mere declaration since he started running for office.”
Emelumba, however, advised the people of Ngor Okpala not to be drawn into “fighting a proxy war,” as Amadi’s intention is to “set them up against the rest of the people of the state.”
