Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has said the data capturing exercise carried out by the state has exposed the fraudulent practices inherent in the secondary school system in the state.
According to the governor, government had been paying salaries to 6,500 secondary school teachers as against 3,000 recorded during the data capturing exercise carried out on July 7.
Speaking at a meeting with traditional rulers at the Eze Imo Palace in Owerri held weekend, Gov Uzodimma bemoaned the fraudulent practices in the system supervised by the Secondary Management Education Board.
He described as regrettable a situation “where people are still fraudulent and collecting salary that does not belong to them.”
The governor reiterated that he has come to serve the people and to repair all the sectors that were rotten and damaged by past administrations in the areas of politics, civil service, education, health, roads, water supply among others.
ALSO READ Gunmen Abduct Imo Zoo GM’s Wife
He challenged the monarchs in the state to do everything within their powers to safeguard their domain and protect their subjects against any form of criminality.
He reminded them of their responsibility to protect their communities as they are “not only custodians of cultures and tradition but also Chief Security Officers of their various communities.”
Governor Uzodimma thanked the monarchs for their contributions towards peace, security and development in Imo State and regretted that in the process of their efforts for a better Imo society they have suffered humiliation and even death.
He therefore promised that government will continue to work with them in the task ahead “so that together the menace and distractions of bandits and unknown gunmen will be a thing of the past.”
He stated that the security challenges in Imo State are not a child’s play though not peculiar to Imo State alone.
Governor Uzodimma reminded the traditional rulers that his administration has awarded contracts of five kilometers per local government and that two kilometers of the 5km has been given out to contractors with advanced payments made.
The governor urged the traditional rulers to supervise and monitor the construction of the roads in their areas and at the same time, confirm to government on their completion before final payments are made to the contractors.
He also said the monarchs will be held responsible if they go ahead to approve payments when jobs are shabbily done, not completed or done at all.
Governor Uzodimma explained that Imo State government has spent over N100 billion on road infrastructure in the past two years of his administration which even his government does not have in its account.
However, the governor emphasized that this is made possible because the government in Imo State and that at the national are of the same party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Uzodimma urged the traditional rulers to warn their subjects, especially the politicians, not to kill or fight anybody on his behalf for the purpose of winning a second term election, saying “second term is predicated on performance.”
He reiterated his call on criminals and bandits to drop their arms and come forward to receive pardon and amnesty from his government.
Responding, the Chairman Imo State Council of Traditional Ruler, Eze Emmanuel Okeke promised to work in tandem with his government to flush out the criminals in communities.
Eze Okeke said that the traditional rulers have been engaging the INEC in stepping up voter registration exercises in the communities to enable Imo people secure their PVCs before the 2023 election.
