Raps Muslims on love, sacrifice, kindness
Urges Imo monarchs to protect their domain
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State on Friday put the Muslim community in Imo in celebration mood for the Ed- el- Kabir, giving them two cows and two truckloads of 50 kilograms of rice to the admiration of their leaders.
In the Governor’s message to our Muslim brothers and sisters, he admonished them to emulate all the good virtues of Prophet Mohammed that include love for one another, sacrifice, peaceful co-existence with neighbours, kindness among others.
In demonstrating his love for our Muslim brothers and sisters the Governor presented 600 bags of rice and two live cows to those of them in Imo State.
Represented by the Chief of Staff, Nnamdi Anyaehie, Governor Uzodimma said the gift is a way of extending the government’s and Imo people’s warmest felicitations and goodwill to our Muslim brothers and sisters in the State and for them to know that “Nigerians are one and that the major religions are also the same.”
Anyaehie said: “The Governor very much appreciates the Muslims that are living in Imo State and sees every citizen of Imo State, be them Christians or Muslims as one and should live in harmony, unity and be our brothers keepers.
“Most importantly, the Governor feels that we should love one another bearing in mind that both religions have co-existed for a long time.
“Since the Muslims celebrate with Christians during the Christmas and Easter, it is equally right and proper that Christians should celebrate with them this time.”
Receiving the gift items, the Sariki Hausawa in Imo State, Auwalu Baba Saidu Suleiman said “it is not the first time His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma, the Governor of Imo State is giving palliative and gifts to the Muslims Umrah during their Salah celebrations.”
He expressed the gratitude of the Muslim community in Imo to the Governor and described Uzodimma as “a man who has shown that he is detribalised and does not segregate.”
He prayed that Allah should make Governor Uzodimma’s tenure the best in Imo State.
On the significance of the celebration, the Saraki Hassan said that it is to emulate the sacrifice Prophet Abraham made to Almighty Allah when he asked him to use his son to make sacrifice to him.
Furthermore, he said that while some Muslims travelled on pilgrimage to Mecca, others who could not make it show appreciation by slaughtering rams as sacrifice to Almighty Allah.
The entire Muslim Community In Imo State which include the Hausas, the Oba of Yaruba in Imo State, the Chairman and Secretary of the Hausa Community in Imo State and other leaders were around to receive the gifts.
The Chief of Staff was assisted at the presentation by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Emeka Agbo, the Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser, Oguwike Nwachuku and other members of the State Expanded Executive Council.
In another development, Governor Hope Uzodimma has challenged monarchs in Imo State to do everything within their behest to safeguard their domain and protect their subjects against any form of criminality.
At a meeting the Governor held with all the traditional rulers from the 27 local government areas of Imo State at the weekend, he reminded them of their responsibility to protect their communities and their subjects as “not only custodians of cultures and tradition but as well, Chief Security Officers of their various communities.”
The meeting with the traditional rulers was held at the Eze Imo Palace at Mbari Owerri Imo State.
Governor Uzodimma thanked the monarchs for their contributions so far towards peace, security and development in Imo State and regretted that in the process of their efforts for a better Imo society they have suffered humiliations and even deaths.
He therefore promised that government will continue to work with them in the task ahead “so that together the menace and distractions of bandits and unknown gunmen will be a thing of the past.”
The Governor reminded them that the security challenges in Imo State are not a child’s play though not peculiar to Imo State alone. “It affects almost all the States of the Federation and as such cannot be treated with kid’s cloves.”
The Governor reiterated that he has come to serve the people and to repair all the sectors that were rotten and damaged by past administrations in the areas of politics, civil service, education, health, roads, water supply among others.
He informed the monarchs that the rot in Imo State is nauseating, citing example of how government has been paying the salary to 6,500 secondary school teachers’ salaries every month whereas in the bio-data exercise carried out on July 7, 2022 government was only able to record 3,000 secondary school teachers.
He bemoaned that the situation is regrettable “where people are still fraudulent and collecting salary that does not belong to them.”
Governor Uzodimma reminded the traditional rulers that his administration has recently awarded contracts of five kilometers per Local Government and that two kilometers of the 5km has been given out to contractors with advanced payments made.
To realize the project, the Governor urged the traditional rulers to supervise and monitor the construction of the roads in their areas and at the same time, confirm to government on their completion before final payments are made to the contractors.
He also said the monarchs will be held responsible if they go ahead to approve payments when jobs are shabbily done, not completed or done at all.
Governor Uzodimma explained that Imo State government has spent over N100 billion on road infrastructure in the past two years of his administration which even his government does not have in its account.
However, the Governor emphasized that this is made possible because the Government in Imo State and that at the National are of the same Party, the All Progressives Congress.
Most importantly, he said, is his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari who he said has given him the guarantee to do the roads.
Governor Uzodimma encouraged the traditional rulers to warn their subjects, especially the politicians, not to kill or fight anybody on his behalf for the purpose of winning a second term election, saying “second term is predicated on performance.”
He reiterated his call on criminals and bandits to drop their arms and come forward to receive pardon and amnesty from his government.
Governor Uzodimma said his government is ready to protect all communities; all Local Government Areas and Imo State against any form of insecurity, noting that his government plans to do so by funding the local vigilante and the Ebube Agu to work in collaboration with the security agencies in Imo State.
He then urged Imo people to go about their normal businesses without fear of harassments or molestations.
Responding on behalf of the monarchs, the Chairman Imo State Council of Traditional Ruler, His Royal Majesty, Eze (Dr.) Emmanuel Okeke, thanked the Governor for findng time to address them and promised to work in tandem with his government to flush out the criminals in Imo Communities.
In addition to security, Eze Okeke said that the traditional rulers have been engaging the INEC in stepping up Voter Registration exercises in the Communities to enable Imo people secure their PVCs before the 2023 election.
