The Labour Party candidate in the Imo governorship election in November, Sen. Athan Nneji Achonu, has blamed insecurity in the state on the disenchantment of the youths with the state of things.
Speaking in a recent interview on Arise Television, the front-runner gubernatorial hopeful, said his administration would tackle the problem head-on.
According to him, the most important thing to do to reduce the level of disenchantment in the state is to identify the problem and address it frontally.
He said: “Firstly, there are no jobs for the people. That is why many youths have taken recourse to criminality. However, my government will see that this will soon become a thing of the past.
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“You don’t know what the Igbo go through. There are checkpoints mounted by the Army, and Police, every one km; sometimes even less than a km. The people are being extorted. There is also hunger in the land. Workers are paid salaries or even described as ghost workers to avoid paying them.”
Achonu does not see the solution to these challenges as a big deal.
“It is not rocket science to create jobs. This is possible even with local govt autonomy, as the LG can create jobs and businesses. I have been strident with my Aku ruo ulo message, which I have demonstrated in practical terms by turning swampy forests in my village into a massive agro hub. My government shall replicate this in every local government in Imo State. I will turn all these forests into agricultural hubs, using Public Private Participation, PPP.
“I will even arrange the funding. Do you know that these intervention funds that come in here; it’s foreigners that borrow it – Indians, Lebanese – these are the people who access it because our governors do not care. However, I will access all of them to create these agro-hubs. Remember the palm oil of the good old days? Even Malaysia that collected from here exports it now.
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“I will create palm tree hubs in all autonomous communities; 50,000 seedlings or 10,000 seedlings a year for five years. I will create processing zones in each of the federal constituencies with a PPP arrangement. This will generate huge employment for thousands of workers. People will come from other states for employment in Imo State. I will also immediately create six industrial hubs across the three zones according to their area of competence. For instance, Orlu is known for pharmaceuticals; oil and gas in Ohaji Egbema; and the agricultural hub in Okigwe.
“On the issue of insecurity, the local government can easily address that. I will introduce a vigilante bill for each LG in league with the Police, DSS, and NSCDC. It is not possible to have ward councillors who would not be aware of strangers in their midst. Sadly, for years now, the state government has confiscated local government funds thereby hindering their performance. Before, the council chairman used to give small, small contracts but without money, they can no longer do that. Some schools do not even have furniture; some have no roof, no window,” he lamented.
Achonu harped on the need for a change of guards in the state.
“Imolites are in dire need of change. They are praying for labour to bring that change, and we will. I will appoint a caretaker committee to run the local governments for six months after taking over. This period is to prepare for the election, which will be the freest and fairest.”
On light, Achonu stated categorically about plans to electrify the state.
“I will ensure all-round power supply in the state. Imo is the third highest producer of oil and gas. There is a law that compels gas companies to have some obligation to the people; Buhari signed that bill. I am already working on those three different groups and moving in to provide us this light,” he said.
