By Collins Ughalaa

The People’s Democratic Party in Imo State held a press conference on Wednesday, May 28. The press conference served more as a therapy session for its internal dysfunction than a serious intervention in public discourse. Billed as a reaffirmation of strength, the gathering quickly unravelled into a noisy mix of factional denial, hollow chest-thumping, and malicious attacks on a government that has remained focused on service delivery despite the noise from a drowning minority party, the PDP.

2. The PDP began by insisting that no factions exist within its Imo State chapter. But this claim collapses under the slightest scrutiny. On April 28, 2025, a group aligned with lawmaker Ugochinyere proclaimed a parallel leadership in Akokwa, exposing the deep cracks within the party. If there were no divisions, why would this announcement attract the kind of attention and condemnation the party is now trying to deflect?

3. The PDP’s desperation to present a united front has instead confirmed the rot within. That party factions now gather in village parlours to announce so-called interim leaders shows how far the party has fallen from even a pretence of internal cohesion or institutional discipline.

4. The attempt to assert that Senator Samuel Anyanwu is both the undisputed leader of the party in Imo and the unchallenged National Secretary is laughable. His tenure has been riddled with legal ambiguities. He clung to his seat during the 2023 Imo gubernatorial election, bizarrely described unfavourable court rulings as distractions, and operated with the force of might rather than legitimacy. His role as National Secretary remains disputed, and the Imo PDP’s insistence on his unshakable authority only deepens the party’s credibility problem.

5. This same shameless PDP that claims Imo State is a PDP stronghold was rejected by the people in 2007, just eight years after it ascended the throne at the Government House. It fell from its dream of governing the state for at least 60 years.

In 1999, Nigeria returned to democracy after decades of military rule. One of the major political parties at the time was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP won the presidential election and secured a majority of the 36 states. In Imo State, it produced Chief Achike Udenwa, who also won re-election in 2003. Across Nigeria, the PDP appeared invincible. In Imo, it looked even more entrenched. But while the party lost power at the centre in 2015, it lost Imo much earlier, just eight years in, due to internal contradictions, poor governance, and power play.

The PDP’s claim ultimately proves hollow. The party has faced severe challenges in regaining power in the state. It was shocked to the marrow when it lost to the fledgling Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in 2007. That blow has proved too much for the PDP to recover from. In 2019, it tried to force itself on the people through the backdoor, but it was kicked out once more. The party has not won its internal battles, yet it pretends to be ready to win the 2027 governorship election. A tall order, isn’t it?

6. The PDP’s claim that the Uzodimma administration has destroyed education in Imo is detached from reality. Under Governor Uzodimma, the government has recruited over 6,000 teachers, many deployed to rural schools. The administration has also launched massive renovations of classroom blocks and improved teacher welfare.

The Uzodimma administration has delivered two new universities: the K.O. Mbadiwe University, Ogboko, and the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo. The government secured the upgrading of the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education to the Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education. It also secured the upgrading of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) to the Federal University Teaching Hospital. These are feats previous PDP administrations deemed unimaginable.

Beyond that, the government established a brand-new polytechnic in Omuma, Oru East LGA, and restored accreditation to critical courses in Imo State University, including Law and Medicine, leading to the graduation of thousands of students who had been stranded for over a decade.

If PDP governments had prioritised service over profligacy, Imo would have been in better shape by 2020. Still, Governor Uzodimma did not trade blame. He cleaned up the sector, restored hope, and ended the perennial strike actions that crippled education. The sector may still need work, but it is far from the graveyard the PDP describes.

7. On infrastructure, the PDP falsely claimed that the World Bank–Umuguma and Nekede–Ihiagwa roads were re-awarded for the second time. What they failed to mention is that the original contracts were terminated due to poor performance and re-awarded through due process. Only a responsible government would take that course of action.

The PDP lives in denial; denial is part of its DNA. How else does one explain the party’s inability to acknowledge the massive infrastructure transformation under Governor Uzodimma, which earned him the Vanguard Infrastructure Governor of the Year Award?

The PDP’s secretariat stands on the Owerri–Okigwe Road, reconstructed by this same administration, including the once-impossible Ekemele section. Yet the party denies the road exists. PDP leaders use the Owerri–Orlu Road, Owerri–Egbu–Mbaise–Obowo–Umuahia Road, Port Harcourt Road, and over 200 others constructed by this government, yet still pretend they don’t exist. They see the Assumpta Flyover but act blind. What won’t the PDP deny?

8. The party’s manufactured outrage over the national Hajj flag-off at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport reeks of religious intolerance and political mischief. It failed to mention that Imo hosted the 2023 Easter Christian pilgrimage flag-off and sponsored over 1,000 pilgrims to Israel and Jordan. The government is also sponsoring Christian pilgrims again this year. The PDP’s selective outrage reveals what many Nigerians already suspect: it will exploit religion if it offers even a short-term political advantage.

9. The PDP further alleged that Imo does not pay the N70,000 minimum wage. That is false. Imo was one of the first states to begin implementation of the new wage regime following the Federal Government’s announcement. Salary harmonisation is ongoing, and civil servants have begun receiving adjusted pay. The PDP’s distortion is a calculated attempt to sow confusion where progress is being made.

10. The PDP also accused the government of violating the rule of law in the appointment of the former Acting Chief Judge. Yet it was Governor Uzodimma who swiftly complied with the NJC’s directive to reverse the appointment, even before any court action was initiated. That sense of institutional respect is foreign to a party led by a man who dismissed court rulings as distractions and treated judicial outcomes as political noise.

11. This is a party whose internal lawlessness, judicial contempt, and factional violence are open secrets. Its leaders operate without regard for procedure and invent narratives to mask failure. The PDP’s bitterness at Governor Uzodimma’s calm and lawful response to the NJC directive is obvious. They simply do not understand what dignified compliance looks like.

12. As for the economy, the PDP makes blanket accusations of mismanagement without offering a single data point. Under Uzodimma, Imo has witnessed a surge in private investment, infrastructure upgrades, and a revitalised SME sector supported by targeted interventions. The dredging of Oguta Lake, the opening of new industrial clusters, and the seamless rollout of digital land administration reforms are examples of real progress that speak louder than press conference platitudes.

13. In referencing allocations and fiscal flows, the PDP offered no audited records, no budget figures, and no credible breakdown. That is fiction, not oversight. A party genuinely committed to accountability would engage with facts, not bandy billions around like birthday souvenirs.

14. Our roads, schools, and public institutions are improving, not collapsing. That progress offends the PDP because it undermines their only campaign strategy: discredit and deflect. But no lie can erase constructed roads, modernised institutions, or civil servants and pensioners who now receive their pay without delay.

15. It is telling that the PDP has transitioned from contesting ideas to peddling chaos. This is the same party that expressed hostility towards Muslims during the Hajj flag-off at an airport that now proudly operates international flights, thanks to Uzodimma’s infrastructural investments. Their reaction was not principled critique: it was sectarian resentment dressed as politics.

16. When an opposition party becomes noted for its lies rather than its leadership, more feared for its infighting than respected for its integrity, it is no longer relevant to the democratic process. The PDP’s press conference was not a strategic meeting. It was the dress rehearsal for its obituary.

Hon. Ughalaa is Special Adviser, Public Orientation to Imo State Governor

By Tony Onyima, Ph.D.

According to the 2025 Pontifical Yearbook released by the Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics, Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s second-largest Catholic nation with 35 million adherents. This milestone signals a profound demographic and spiritual shift in global Catholicism.

With 35 million Catholics, Nigeria now accounts for more than 12% of Africa’s total Catholic population, which has grown to 281 million, representing 20% of the global Catholic community. Only the Democratic Republic of Congo ranks higher on the continent, with 55 million Catholics.

To appreciate the weight of these numbers, consider this: Nigeria alone now has more Catholics than Italy, France, and Spain individually – countries once seen as the heartlands of the faith. This is a vivid reminder that the centre of gravity for global Catholicism is shifting decisively southward.

Globally, the Catholic Church boasts 1.406 billion members. Brazil has 182 million Catholics, comprising 13% of the global population. Yet, Africa’s role as the faith’s growth engine is becoming impossible to ignore. With every passing year, one in every five Catholics in the world is African – a far cry from just a few decades ago.

While the Church in Europe grapples with secularisation and a shrinking priesthood, Africa is surging with vitality. The number of Catholic priests in Africa rose by 2.7%, bucking the global trend, which saw a modest decline of -0.2%. Today, Africa is home to 54,944 Catholic priests, forming 13.5% of the worldwide priesthood.

The growth is mirrored in the rising number of bishops on the continent. Africa’s share of the global episcopacy increased from 13.8% to 14.2%, reaching 771 bishops – men who will shape the theology, culture, and politics of the Church in decades to come.

The implications are profound for Nigeria. With 35 million Catholics – more than the entire population of Ghana – Nigeria’s Catholic Church is significant and influential. Its bishops play a growing role in Vatican diplomacy. Its seminaries are full. Its lay movements are vibrant. And its clergy are increasingly being dispatched as missionaries to ageing parishes in Europe and North America.

Nigeria’s Catholic growth is not occurring in isolation. Other African countries with rapidly expanding Catholic populations include Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya – part of a belt of faith stretching across sub-Saharan Africa.

The Church’s global numbers tell a story of renewal and challenge. While the Americas still hold the largest regional share of Catholics at 47.8%, and Europe retains 20.4%, Africa’s 20% is set to increase in the coming years. Asia, led by the Philippines, has 93 million Catholics, and India, with 23 million, holds 11%. Oceania accounts for just 0.78%.

Regarding ecclesiastical infrastructure, the Church now has 3,041 jurisdictions – dioceses, archdioceses, eparchies, prefectures, and vicariates – showing its vast global footprint. The number of bishops worldwide has increased from 5,353 to 5,430.

However, the number of seminarians worldwide— a key predictor of future clergy— declined from 108,481 to 106,495. Again, Africa stands apart: its seminarian population rose by 1.1%, from 34,541 to 34,924, meaning the continent alone contributes one-third of all global seminarians.

The number of religious brothers and sisters – once the heartbeat of Catholic education and healthcare – has dropped globally from 599,228 to 589,423. Yet Africa again tells a different story. The continent saw an increase of 2.2% and now contributes 82,519 religious men and women, or 14% of the global total.

Permanent deacons, a growing cadre within the Church’s pastoral ministry, increased worldwide by 2.6%, from 50,150 to 51,433.

As the global Church wrestles with cultural transformation, declining vocations in the West, and calls for reform, Africa, particularly Nigeria, represents hope and challenge. The raw numbers are unambiguous. Growth is no longer happening in Rome, Paris, or New York. It’s happening in Lagos, Kinshasa, Nairobi, and Kampala.

If demographics are destiny, then Nigeria’s place at the table of Catholic influence is no longer negotiable. The Nigerian Catholic Church is not merely growing; it is ascending, evangelising, and recalibrating what it means to be Catholic in the 21st century.

In the next generation, Nigerian priests may keep churches open in Berlin or Boston as vocations dry up in Europe and America. Nigerian bishops may shape synodal processes in Rome. And Nigerian laypeople, in their tens of millions, will carry the torch of a global faith into the future.

Onyima is a Knight of the Honoured Order of the Knights of Saint Mulumba (KSM)