BY COLLINS UGHALAA –
By the grace of God, Governor Hope Uzodimma has destroyed the yoke of hardship in Imo. Amen!
Let posterity note that on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, he defused an artificial but lethal fuel crisis in Imo State; that he announced tax exemption for persons who earn under Seventy Thousand Naira monthly; that he rolled out a plan to review business levies on fuel stations in Imo, etc. Similarly, the Governor has removed the burden of judgement debt he inherited upon assumption of office by settling with all those concerned. What a listening Governor! Imo can now breathe. All in addition to myriad employment/entrepreneurial/empowerment schemes.
We congratulate the Governor on taking pragmatic steps to remove blockers from the path of hardworking Imo people and resolving the age-long judgement debt crisis as well. Keep on, Mr Governor. The economy can now exhale. More Imolites will find work. The average Joe will feel Government’s tender touch on his shoulder.
We also commend the Governor for resolving the contrived fuel crisis with an economy of resources.
We know full well that vultures, looking to profiteer, harassed him without let to relinquish our commonwealth in the guise of settling a judgement debt (which had been appealed no less!).
They took their wailing to WhatsApp, to Facebook, to the grapevine: “why won’t he release this money and let us have peace? What kind of Government is this?”
But Uzodinma, attuned to the pulse of the streets, convened a meeting of the concerned unions and de-escalated the face-off.
He solved this crisis through empathetic listening, not by throwing money at it.
While we recommend Uzodinma’s style to administrators nationwide, we meanwhile, demand that the Imo petrol dealers prevail on their membership to revert to status quo ante. We reject the speculation. We refuse to normalise multiple prices of petrol in Imo. The price of petrol in Owerri should be the same as in Mgbidi, or Amaraku, or Okwe. It is time to put service above self. We also urge the 15-man Committee set up after the Governor’s meeting with the unions to find lasting solutions to the problems, to do a thorough job, bearing in mind that when Imo wins we all win. It is time to contribute to the Governor’s effort to put smiles on faces in Imo.
The siege is over. Imo is winning; may she continue to win.
9News Nigeria (Owerri)
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