By Ori Martins


It is laughable that after we warned those whose only concern is to haul insults and abuses on the immediate past Imo State governor, His Excellency, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, the group shamelessly responsible for this inglorious infamy had gone faceless. This outrageous act certainly confirms the group's lack of integrity. 


They can no longer muster courage to identity themselves properly while penning down their ill conceived and terribly delivered attacks against Ihedioha which usually come in form of social media posts. 


This absolutely means that these people are nothing but  cowards who parade themselves as Senator Samuel Anyanwu's agents and partners. Anyanwu who  is also known as Samdaddy has just one aim so dear to him - to destroy Imo State chapter of the PDP. For this destruction to be possible and complete, Ihedioha must be anihiliated. Yes, because, most of the platforms used in circulating the notorious lies against Ihedioha normally emanate from, as well as traced to persons, very close to Samdaddy!


You see, I am an Okwuato indigene. Okwuato is in Aboh Mbaise LGA. The sub power station at Ibeku, along Eke Nguru Road, which the cruel Ihedioha executioners employed against him is Okwuato hence my involvement here. That scheme was one of those landmark projects Ihedioha attracted when he was a member of the Federal House of Representatives and my people are still very much happy with him for it till today. 


Unfortunately, the Samdaddy kill and bury writer who could not be bold enough to properly identify himself, in order to ingratiate himself adequately to his hawkish pay-master, (it is possible that distorted piece was put together by largely an inexperienced consortium of writers) disingenuously scribbled the Ibeku Okwuato sub power station was put in place during the seven month reign of Ihedioha as governor. What a crude lie! 


Truth be told, Okwuato and Nguru indigenes where excited when Ihedioha attracted that commendable federal project to the area and they appreciated his efforts. Had it been completed, it would have solved the perennial incessant power supply still experienced by the masses of these densely populated towns of Okwuato and Nguru. 


That power project was brought when PDP was in power at the centre and the man who made it possible was Prof Bath Nnaji, then the minister of power and energy. Sadly, PDP lost power at the federal level in 2015 and that scheme was discontinued and subsequently abandoned. How can you now blame Ihedioha as it has now become a still - born project? 


Recall that even the power generating facility in Aba otherwise known as Geometric power station facilitated by Nnaji himself - at that time the minister of power - only got off the tracks just last week. And the Aba Geometric and that of Okwuato sub station were almost conceived at the same time. You can see that the faceless social media   not well trained bullies only wanted to get at Ihedioha to bully him but they completely failed! 


Again, to publicly expose their lack of knowledge on Ihedioha's hallmark of achievements during his glorious stay in Abuja as the legislator representing Aboh Mbaise, Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency, the Samdaddy social media rats both in the tattered article under review and elsewhere, called EFCC and the Federal Government to investigate Ihedioha for a possible arrest for his "gross misdeeds" while he was a federal lawmaker and governor in Imo just as they carelessly quarried his report card for his people as he served in those two capacities. 


It is really not for nothing that Hosea, the biblical prophet, correctly hollered that " people perish for lack of knowledge". Those behind this recent reckless attack on Ihedioha never knew the imaculate and excellent record he achieved while in Abuja between 2003 and 2015.


The fact remains that all the three LGAs in Mbaise and the generality of Imo State benefited immensely from Ihedioha's super representation as a federal lawmaker (albeit he represented Aboh Mbaise, Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency). Since I am from Okwuato, let me limit the facts about my area only. 


To begin with, for decades, the road from Sign Board  Bus Stop in Eziala Enyiogugu crisscrossing Ulakwo, Umuelem (all in Enyiogugu Ward) to Oboama in Ezinihitte LGA, stretching to Aboh Mbaise Junction, was totally in bad shape. It was swallowed by multiple erosion of the worst proportion. During rainy season, that road damaged many cars, destroyed several motorcycles even as many lives were lost and goods running into several millions of naira were equally destroyed. In fact, that road was a nightmare, a death trap. 


When Ihedioha came in as a lawmaker, he brought Zerok Construction Company and that road was constructed. Today, the road in question is still one of the best in the state, made possible by Ihedioha. 


There is another that cuts across Umugaragu in Enyiogugu., Lagwa in Okwuato., Aronta, Isiala and Awaka in Mbutu., down to Orie Uvuru via Amaishii. This road was first cleared by, incidentally, an Aronta man called Chief Francis Eneremadu, who was a court clark and warrant chief, in 1948. He convinced the colonial authorities in Owerri to make that road available in order for the people of the area known as Oke Uvuru to have access to the divisional court at Enyiogugu, then. 


In 1981 a Lagwa man known as Chief Nnoromele, using his contact in the Federal Government of then President Shehu Shagari, alongside other Lagwa patriots of that era, reached out to Sam Mbakwe and the construction of the road began but the Muhammadu Buhari coup of December 31,1983 caught up with it and work on it stopped. 


Ihedioha was with then vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as an aide before 2003. From there, he got across to then governor, Achike Udenwa on the practical importance of this road and for it to be fixed urgently. Udenwa listened and restarted the processes of reconstructing the utility access road. And in 2003 Ihedioha emerged as a federal lawmaker whereupon he attracted NNDC to ultimately complete that road. Today, like the Sign Board - Aboh Road, this road is one of the best in the state and both are the easiest means my people  can reach out to other highways in Imo! 


What of the Orie Opara in Nguru - Amaohuru(Nguru)  - Afor Ibeku - Umuhu - Isiala Mbutu - Nkwo Mbutu - Ozara  - Uvuru Road, measured 13kms? It was meant to connect the Sam Mbakwe Airport Road via Logara in Ngor Okpala. This road was built in 2007. Because of lack of maintenance as Ihedioha is no longer in office, some failed portions of the road have yet to get attention for repair. The Mbaise Ring Road that commenced at Nkwo Ogbo, Uvuru in Aboh Mbaise, and handled by Aero Contractors, became abandoned and the portions already covered are in bad shape because they never experienced the much needed last touch of finishing. 


For so long, Ihedioha has been terribly distracted by agents of destabilization who latch on the non existing tag of "embezzlement of LGA funds in seven months" as a launch pad. It can be said that in the last 12 years, Ihedioha's seven months reign was the only period local government funds were allowed to be fully accessed and utilized by the respective councils and for the benefits of masses at the grassroots (Local Government Areas). Ihedioha's government only provided directives and effective monitoring. 


It was for that purpose that the 27 LGAs got revived and bubbled with massive people oriented projects. For instance, there was construction of new stadiums, new secretariats even as the idea of rehabilitating some of the traditional markets in the communities was conceived. 


Had the 27 stadiums across the 27 LGAs been completed, Imo State would have been exporting exporting skilled athletes to all parts of the world. Remember, even when the idea was still in its infancy, the then sports minister, an APC Federal Executive Council member, proclaimed Imo State, a PDP enclave governed by Ihedioha, as "Nigeria's home of sports".


Also, Ihedioha commenced the building of halls in the council headquarters and few were completed. The vehicles used today by the 27 LGA acting chairmen were procured by Ihedioha who equally brought graders, each in all the 27 LGAs, for road maintenance. 


Within that period, Imo people at the communities had cultivated the idea of thronging to their respective council headquarters for most matters that hitherto brought, and in the present, bring them to Owerri, thereby reducing tension at the Imo State Government House, and making the councils more functional and responsible. 


It is an act of stupidity that not minding this immaculate and high ground breakthrough achievements of Ihedioha, a failed politician who had consistently failed elections in his ward and polling unit since 2015, and whose outing in the last governorship election in Imo State  as PDP candidate was horrible, alongside his misguided proteges, have continued to harass Ihedioha with the call for EFCC to investigate him. 


Thus, we call on the anti graft agency to do well to investigate Ihedioha both during his days as a federal lawmaker and reign as governor to ascertain his innocence or otherwise. This is needed either to declare Ihedioha guilty as charged by his traducers or pronounce him innocent for his mindless attackers to shut up and go home in shame.