•States why gov set aside 83% of 2024 budget for capital expenditure

The Imo state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba has attributed the peaceful atmosphere in the state to the proactive strategies put in place by the governor, Hope Uzodinma, which he said has now made Imo one of the safest in the zone.

Emelumba was speaking on Friday on a breakfast television programme on Arise TV monitored in Abuja.
He said gone were the days when Imo was the poster state for insecurity.

“Insecurity in Imo state has come down significantly from what it was about two or three years ago. There was a time Imo was truly unsafe and when we said the insecurity was politically contrived, when you look at the fact that it escalated after the storming of Owerri Custodial Centre and over 1,000 inmates were released and they went all over the state.

You ask yourself, who aided and abetted the storming of the facility and release of these inmates and you begin to see political fingers being pointed here and there because some people said they were going to make the state ungovernable for the governor.

“Be that as it may, the important thing is that Gov. Hope Uzodinma rose to the occasion and in one or two years, he brought down insecurity to the barest minimum. I am sure that if you look at the figures today, Imo is not the most insecure place in the South East. In fact, it is one of the safest places you can visit today in the South East. Through out the Yuletide, there was practically no incident anywhere. It is work in progress. In the second tenure, the governor will continue with those strategies he has been using, collaborate with security agencies and provide them logistics and strengthen the Imo Security Network which is responsible for primary intelligence gathering from the rural areas and sharing with security agencies. These efforts will continue and be intensified and in the governor’s second tenure, it will be to the shame of those who thought or imagined that Imo would always be unsafe”.

Speaking on the swearing in of the governor slated for Monday, Emelumba said the people are overly excited due to the high level of infrastructural development they witnessed in the first tenure.
“The mood in Imo state is that of massive joy and excitement because the people who voted for him are happy that he is going to be sworn in and they are satisfied with his performance in the first tenure which focused on massive infrastructural development and creation of jobs. On the digital skills acquisition project, the commissioner said so far, over 20, 000 youths have been trained and supported with the necessary tools and capital.

“The digital project is aimed at empowering Imo youths to acquire some digital skills so that they can be self employed and also be gainfully employable in this digital age. The whole idea is to enable Imo youths to have access to the global digital economy. It is an ongoing process and some of them have been enlisted. So far, over 20,000 youths have been trained and equipped with start-up capital and tools. Many of them are also now gainfully employed. Some of them have secured employments outside the country and it is an ongoing process”, he stated.
Emelumba added that the 2024 budget is structured in a way that capital expenditure would take about 83 percent, assuring the people of more democratic dividends.

“The total budget is N592 billion and out of that, N491 billion, about 83 percent is for capital expenditure. So, that will show you that the focus of the governor’s second tenure is massive infrastructural expansion. That is why he tagged the budget ‘Renewed Economic Growth because in the first tenure, he addressed a lot of infrastructural deficit through massive construction of roads that have economic value for the people of the state. Most of these major roads lead the state to other states. He has been able to lay the foundation for economic growth. So, the second tenure would see more roads, exploits in Education, Health, Water and Sanitation plus many others”, he stated.