The Mazi Organization,TMO, said that the attention of the organization has been drawn to the recent self-defeating and incongruous statement credited to the Commissioner for Information, Hon. Declan Emelumba, which can pass off as yet another unfortunate attempt to trade facts for propaganda and to substitute award plaques for actual service delivery – no doubt, it has been five years of inconsequential and ineffective governance of Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Responding to the misguided, defective and misleading position, The Mazi Organization, in a statement signed by the Spokesperson, Cajetan Duke said, “It is certain and profound that the issues Mazi Chima Mathew Amadi raised at the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri Catholic Men Organisation seminar are true, verifiable and in sync with the realities on the ground in the state”.
“As it is characteristic of the administration of Uzodimma, the trite, unprofessional and poorly worded release failed to categorically address the crucial points raised by Amadi during the seminar organized by Catholic Men Organization recently but chose to adulate the governor and his non-existing achievements in a manner that is glaringly hypocritical as those claims do not match the true position of things in the state.”
“Mazi Chima Mathew Amadi PhD, raised crucial points that exposed the underwhelming performance of the Uzodimma administration for the past five years with the goal of helping the government reset its priorities for the collective good of Imo people as a concerned stakeholder, who wants the best for Imo people and it is unconnected with any political ambition. The best route for any ambitious and hungry political office seeker is to join the bandwagon league of Uzodimma’s praise singers, who hope to benefit from his notorious electoral enterprise, alas! Amadi is not desperate, but concerned about the poor state of governance in Imo.”
“Unfortunately, Emelumba and his cohorts, got it all wrong by failing to grapple with the nitty-gritty of Amadi’s well-tailored and informed arguments during the seminar organized by the Catholic Men Organization.”
“Instead, Emelumba went beserk by hurling insults, tantrums even as he poured venom at Amadi. But TMO, as a responsible, peaceful and vision-driven organization will not descend to the gutter and unprofessional level of Emelumba as such is not in consonance with our ideals.”
“We will rather stick with facts and continue to engage the Imo State Government on issues of governance and issues that has to do with the needs of Imo people. We are not engaging in any political campaign yet and when the time comes, TMO will unveil a world-class but domesticated roadmap that will set the ball rolling for 2027 conversation.”
“Meantime, we will continue to hold the government accountable and pursuant to that we are asking these pertinent questions that require convincing, proven and verifiable answers.”
“First, the Imo State Government under the leadership of Uzodimma, should tell Imo people why it took the state government 11 days to react to the massacre of 21 innocent Imo people in Arondizuogu, Ideato North Local Government Area (LGA) with a weak, defective, inconsequential and incoherent statement that leaves much to be desired. We can understand how difficult it is defending the indefensible! In Imo State today, it is a classical caricature of modern day government.”
“On the issue of maternal mortality rate, the Commissioner disputes our figure of 1,863 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in Imo State, citing a much lower figure from State-of-States via kingmakers.com.ng.”
“It is important we draw the attention of the reading public to the following:
• StateofStates is not the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the World Health Organization (WHO), or the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), which are the most authoritative bodies on such metrics.
• The last NDHS (2018) recorded Nigeria’s South-East region with one of the highest subnational maternal mortality estimates, with local health experts warning that state-level breakdowns-where they exist-are often higher than regional averages due to access and facility gaps.
• Any government truly confident of its record should commission an independent, public audit of maternal and child mortality in Imo State covering the last five years.”
“Now the question is, if Imo State Government under Governor Uzodimma truly believes that the flaunted figure of 163 deaths is accurate, why did it fail to release the methodology, raw data, and year-by-year breakdown for public scrutiny?”
“On the “Award-Winning” Healthcare claim, the Commissioner listed series of awards as evidence of good healthcare but we are aware that in reality, pretentious and sycophantic awards do not treat patients, nor do they stop preventable deaths.”
“Across rural Local Government Areas, LGAs, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), where physical structures exist, remain understaffed, underequipped, and understocked. A visit to any PHCs in communities such as Umunakanu in Ehime Mbano and many other communities in rural LGAs, will reveal empty wards, broken beds, and lack of running water.”
“The so-called “revitalisation” of all 305 PHCs is simply an “audio revitalisation” as nothing on the ground supports such audacious lie! Where there is any, such facility lacks consistent drug supply, skilled personnel, or functional referral systems.”
“The pertinent question is why has the Imo State Government failed to publish the full inventory of functional PHCs with GPS coordinates, staffing levels, and service hours for verification by the people but busy listing spurious awards?”
“Why is the Imo State Government in shameless display of mediocrity by putting a lame defence on local government autonomy and security situation?”
“Shockingly, the government in a show of odious impunity, disputes that the LGA chairmen are not the chief security officers of their respective LGAs – this perhaps could be a semantic distraction.”
“While the provision of security in every state in Nigeria falls within the ambit of the state governor and federal agencies constitutionally, it is however true that every functioning local government administration in Nigeria has statutory responsibility to maintain peace, law and order within its jurisdiction, as codified in State Local Government Laws.”
“In practice, LGAs fund vigilantes, build security posts, partner with police divisions, other security agencies and traditional rulers to ensure adequate security of lives and properties of the citizens – the recent massacre in Arondizuogu, Ideato North LGA is clearly a tragic reminder that this responsibility is being grossly neglected in Imo State and that the Governor cannot do it alone.”
“Why did Emelumba fail to tell Imolites how much each LGA in Imo budgeted for community security from FAAC allocations since 2019? Where are the CCTV hubs, solar streetlights, patrol vans, and trained vigilance corps funded from these billions of Naira?”
“On the issue of seizure of LGA allocations, the government calls it a lie that local government funds are centrally controlled yet multiple civil society budget trackers and union statements posit that LGAs in Imo had limited fiscal autonomy, with allocations managed from the centre under the guise of “Joint Accounts.”
“We challenge the state government to publish full LGA FAAC receipts and expenditure reports from 2019–2025, signed by the respective LGA treasurers and not just the Ministry of Local Government.”
“The issue of roads and infrastructure claims remain the most ridiculous and miserable response of any government in recent times.”
“The claim that five kilometres of roads have been constructed in each of the 27 LGAs by this administration, assuming such roads actually exist, brings us to a damming reality of one kilometre of road per year in five years? What an absurdity? What a calamity?”
“However, evidence across the state contradicts the claim of five kilometres of roads as citizen reports and geotagged images show unpaved and impassable roads in communities within Orlu, Ohaji-Egbema, Ngor Okpala, Owerri West, Aboh Mbaise, Ideato North, Mbaitoli LGAs etc.”
“We therefore, challenge the state government to within 14 days release the list of roads, contractors, amount paid, and completion certificates of these roads across the LGAs for independent verification.”
“Emelumba, in his habitual naked dance, went to town with his fabricated and elusive “Education Success Story” in Imo. While it is no longer in doubt that Imo State Government under Governor Uzodimma has gained a lot of notoriety for fabricating and propagating falsehoods right from inception, the barefaced lie about the state of our education system is the height of rascality and gross irresponsibility.”
“While the government boasts of rebuilding schools, our communities are dotted with collapsed or dilapidated public schools buildings, with absolute lack of learning and teaching facilities. Contrary to Emelumba’s claims, Uzodimma administration in the last five years has not conducted a single staff recruitment exercise unlike what is happening in other southeast states. For instance, just within two years in office, the Abia State Government under Governor Alex Otti, has recruited over ten thousand teachers in its public school system. You can now understand the priorities of a government with different educational qualifications. While the Abia State case is an example of a man giving what he has, the sorry state of Imo education system reflects a man expected to give what he doesn’t have or appreciate.”
“We challenge the Imo State government to provide school-by-school performance data, teacher recruitment and deployment lists, as well as evidence of functional labs and libraries-not just ribbon-cutting ceremonies.”
“Finally, the misleading statement issued by the Imo State Government is heavy on adjectives and light on hard evidence. Imo people deserve leaders, who answer facts with facts, not with political name-calling.”
“Let me reiterate that our intervention and advocacy has nothing to do with 2027, rather it is because of our firm conviction that citizens and stakeholders must always hold government officials accountable or else they will slip into democratic despots. We insist that there must be transparency. Let the data speak. Let the people see. Until that happens, no amount of state-sponsored press statements will change the truth that too many communities in Imo are under the occupation of non-state actors.”
“As the prophets of old declared to the kings of their day: “You are weighed on the scales and found wanting” (Daniel 5:27),
The good news is that Imo will rise again! Chimamkpa ndi Imo!”