The Imo State Government says it has uncovered fresh plots by some politicians to further destabilize the State.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Declan Emelumba, raised this alarm on Tuesday when he addressed newsmen at the Government House Owerri.
According to Emelumba, “a former Governor of the State” and those he referred to as “disgruntled politicians have raised a hefty N5b to trigger another round of security crisis in the state.” Emelumba further alleged as he was addressing the newsmen that a serving member of the House of Representatives from Imo State was coordinating on this destabilization plot.
According to the details he shared, he said, after the petition, the politicians plan to begin a destructive campaign to declare Imo State in a state of emergency. He said with the N5b at their disposal; they plan to sponsor sundry protests and violence followed by intensive national and International media propaganda as a way of giving an opening to their petition as being real.
The Commissioner suggested those indicted by the White Paper on recovery of land and looted assets of the State were behind what he described as “the politically contrived security breaches in the state.” He noted that the involved parties have openly boasted of making the state ungovernable for Governor Hope Uzodinma. A threat he said “had been maliciously executed.”
He stated that a serving senator and a perennial governorship aspirant in the state were planning a courtesy call to the Inspector General of Police to serve him a petition that the security of the State has collapsed and the government has been overwhelmed by the challenges of Imo State. They plan to use the recent unfortunate fate of our two Royal Fathers from Njaba to anchor their campaign.
He noted that aside from pockets of security concerns like the murder of the royal fathers, Imo State has been peaceful and this was even acknowledged by the United Kingdom which didn’t list the State as one of the unsafe ones in its recent travel advisory note to citizens. Regrettably, he pointed out that the perpetrators of the security breaches were dancing on the graves of innocent citizens.
The Commissioner, however, shares a warning to perpetrators and every citizen collaborating with them, “The Government is prepared to match them with legal force should they try to form a security nuisance among themselves again. If in the first instance they took us by surprise, they will not have a second day.” He assured the people present Governor Uzodimma was ever ready to discharge his constitutional responsibility of securing the lives and property of citizens of the state. He therefore advised Imo citizens to be on alert and be prepared to resist the plot of disgruntled politicians to trigger another round of violence in the State.