UZODIMMA AT THE HOUSE OF LORDS, LONDON: IMO PRODUCING TEMPLATES FOR LEADERSHIP TRANSFORMATION
Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has declared that the state is now producing templates for leadership transformation.
He said that beyond a strategic business template that has created more than 20,000 jobs, the state has embraced digital technology and skills empowerment, generating another 60,000 jobs, and has put in place the basic infrastructure that investment requires.
Addressing members of the House of Lords and a distinguished gathering of African leaders at the House of Lords in London, Uzodimma said that over the past six and a half years under his leadership, the state has built the infrastructure needed to attract investors and develop business leaders.
According to him, by leveraging its large gas deposits, Imo has set aside 140,000 hectares of land for the Orashi Special Energy Free Zone, positioning the state as a home for serious energy investment.
“When power becomes reliable in Imo, the face of industrialisation changes across Nigeria’s South East. That means jobs in a state where too many young people have waited too long for one,” he said.
Uzodimma, who spoke on the topic “FROM VISION TO VELOCITY: DRIVING AFRICA’S NEXT WAVE OF GROWTH AND LEADERSHIP, THE IMO EXPERIENCE”, noted that Africa’s development has never been held back by a lack of vision, but by stunted velocity.
“Our founding fathers dreamed big. What we have lacked is velocity, the speed to turn our lofty plans into changed lives. That distance between the vision and the delivery is where several generations of African development have quietly died,” he said.
The Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman announced that Imo has set out to change that story, moving quickly on delivery while building its own template for development and leadership.
He said that ambition is reflected in the construction of more than 140 roads, in energy sustainability, security, and land reforms, and in the deliberate empowerment of young people through digital skills.
“The government understands that the next economy will be built by young people with skills. Through Imo Digital City and the SkillUp Imo initiative, more than 60,000 young people have been trained for the digital economy,” he said.
He told his audience that the state has also developed another leadership transformation template, the One Kindred, One Business Initiative, in which communities pool resources to co-own businesses.
The Governor disclosed that under the scheme, more than 600 businesses have been established, creating 20,000 jobs, and that the model has been adopted by the Federal Government to encourage other states to follow suit.
Uzodimma expressed satisfaction with Imo’s steady march towards velocity through delivery, rather than dwelling on vision alone.
“Velocity is never an accident. It is built where institutions are strengthened, where infrastructure is laid, where innovation is welcomed, and where the citizen is safe. Assemble these four, and a government stops announcing and begins to deliver,” he said.
He therefore invited investors to Imo, assuring them that the enabling environment for investment is already in place.
Uzodimma thanked the African Leadership Organisation for bestowing on him the African Leadership and Good Governance Award, describing it as an honour he deeply valued.
He also commended the organisation for giving “the African story a stage on which it is told in Africa’s own voice.”
