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Ahead of the 11th November governorship election in Imo State, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Athan Achonu, has urged Governor Hope Uzodinma to resign honourably for failure to arrest insecurity in the state.
Achonu made the remarks in a statement signed by the director general of his campaign organization, Mr Chime which was obtained by The Eastern Updates on Wednesday.
Achonu, who was reacting to a recent meeting between the governor and traditional rulers, presidents-general and youth leaders of communities in Imo, chided the governor for telling his audience to assume responsibility for the security of their respective communities.
The individual, in his role as the chief security officer of the state, expressed that it was not acceptable for the governor to relinquish his duties to the local community leaders. He encouraged the governor to step down due to his lack of solutions.
He also described it as a ‘Greek gift’, the sum of N1 million that the governor released to each traditional ruler in the state to help fight insecurity.
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“The first duty of the government is to protect lives and property, and a governor, by the dictates of our constitution, is the chief security officer of the state.
“If the chief security officer is telling the people he is supposed to protect, to protect themselves, that simply means that he lacks the capacity to continue as their Governor and should therefore resign.
According to him, the timing of the disbursement less than four months before the governorship election suggests that its real intent is to induce the support of traditional rulers, especially as the challenge of insecurity is not new to the state.
“It is indeed worrisome that on the eve of a governorship election in which he is a candidate, Gov. Uzodimma has just realized that the traditional institution exists whereas, between October 19, 2021, and July 17th, 2023, about five traditional rulers have been reportedly murdered in cold blood,” he said.
He, however, assured Imo people of his readiness to address security and other challenges head on if elected governor and urged them to give him the requisite support.
