The Imo State government has blasted a governorship aspirant, Chima Amadi describing him as a serial liar and reckless alarmist with no credible agenda for the people of the state.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, accused Amadi of inciting the public with fabricated statistics and baseless claims intended to mislead and provoke unrest.
Emelumba stated that instead of Amadi unveiling a serious manifesto or plan for Imo people, he has resorted to attacking the government of the day with white lies and discredited data.
This was coming on the heels that Amadi had at a seminar of the Catholic Men Organization in Owerri on Thursday, claimed that Imo State records the highest maternal mortality rate in Nigeria, 1,863 deaths per 100,000 live births, allegedly due to poor health facilities.
But in reply, Emelumba dismissed the assertion as fiction peddled by a desperate political neophyte, saying that contrary to Amadi’s wild and unsubstantiated claim, the actual figure for maternal mortality in Imo State is 163 deaths per 100,000 live births.
He noted that while the figure is relatively low by national standards, as Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is 993 per 100,000 live births, he added that Governor Hope Uzodimma believes it must keep declining, with zero as the ultimate target.
“This is why the government has sustained spirited efforts to expand access to maternal care and improve outcomes for mothers and babies across the state,” he added.
Emelumba said Amadi’s claim that health facilities in Imo State are in poor shape is not only false but laughable, given the consistent national recognition the state has received in healthcare delivery.
He also debunked Amadi’s suggestion that Gov. Uzodimma had seized control of local government allocations, describing the accusation as another lie devoid of evidence.
“Amadi shamelessly told his audience that nothing has been done at the local government level in the last five years.
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“But the facts speak for themselves: five kilometres of road have been constructed in each of the 27 local government areas.
“Local councils have also signed an agreement with the Orashi Electricity Company to deliver 24-hour electricity to their communities. And no local government worker is owed a salary in Imo State,” Emelumba affirmed.
The government also berated Amadi for peddling the falsehood that public education in Imo is in decline, claiming parents are fleeing to private schools with their children and wards.
“Even if Amadi were to become governor of Imo State by accident, it would take him more than eight years to match what Uzodimma has delivered in just five,” he declared.
“This is not about rabble-rousing. This is not about stoking resentment. Governance requires vision, capacity, and substance, attributes that are far away from the Chima Amadi that spoke at Assumpta on Thursday,” Emelumba emphasised.
He challenged Amadi to publish a credible action plan for Imo State, one that matches the scale, ambition, and execution plan of Gov. Uzodimma’s pre-candidacy blueprint as the APC governorship candidate in 2019.
