The Governor of IMO State, Hope Uzodinma has attributed his ascent to the governorship of Imo State to divine grace and his personal perseverance. He stated how he contested the governorship election and won convincingly in 2019 but faced a challenging seven-month court battle to reclaim his stolen mandate.
He highlighted that he was undeterred by the absence of a formal handover or the state’s rundown condition and that he was determined to implement his blueprint for governance. He noted that through his leadership, the civil service now functions effectively and salaries are paid regularly and promptly in Imo state.
He said in a live coverage by Arise TV From Minute 48:30, ”It is the grace of God and my struggle that made me to become the governor of Imo state. I started this journey in 2003, running for an election against an incumbent. And after that my people persuaded me to represent them in the Senate and that was in 2011. I served for 8 years in the Senate and after that there was another invitation. And this time it was from Imo people asking me to contest for the Governorship election and for the collective interest of IMO people, I also responded.
I won the 2019 election convincingly but the mandate was stolen from me and I had to spend 7 months to reclaim it through the court. And thereafter I hit the ground running because I was already prepared to be governor, I had my blueprint for the governance of Imo state. I was not deterred by the fact that there was no formal handover of power to me nor by the fact that the state had been rundown and abandoned. But I was determined to move on and make things work. And today we can boast of having the most efficient and automated civil service in the East of the Niger. The Civil service is working and salaries are paid regularly and as of when due.”