The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has made a stern promise to apprehend and bring to justice Senator Athan Achonu, who is the governorship candidate for the Labour Party in the upcoming November 11, 2023 gubernatorial election. The Governor made this statement during an event, where he was endorsed by a group led by Dr. Fabian Ekwueme, known as the Imo Social Contract Group.
Governor Uzodimma accused Senator Achonu of obtaining a court order through fraudulent means, which certified that he had constructed primary healthcare facilities in all 27 local government areas of the state. This deceitful act allowed Senator Achonu to claim millions of dollars, which the Governor lamented was being surreptitiously deducted from Imo’s allocation by the federal government.
The governor labeled the act as criminal, misleading, and detrimental to development. However, in response, the Director of Media and Publicity for Senator Athan Achonu’s Governorship Campaign Council, Chibuikem Diala, suggested that the governor may have made the statement while hallucinating. Diala claimed that Senator Achonu had completed over 70% of the job in all 774 local government areas in the country.
He also stated that the senator had initiated the contract in 2006 while representing Imo North (Okigwe zone) in the Senate, and it was an ALGON-funded contract approved by the federal government at that time. Diala went on to clarify that the facilities were visible and functional in Owerri Municipal, Isu local governments, and even in Omuma, the governor’s hometown.