₦airaland Forum

In the wake of recent reported cases of flooding in Owerri, the Imo State capital, and other parts of the State, the Global Association of Concerned Imo Youths has called on the citizens to be patient as the government makes efforts to address the issue.

The group identified flooding as a global menace which it attributed to climate change and unfriendly environmental practices such as blocking of the drainage, building on waterways and destruction of flood channels.

In a statement signed by its convener, Collins Ughalaa, the group said that the state government had commenced flood control projects in the capital.

It expressed optimism that upon the completion of the projects and other ongoing construction works, flooding would be a thing of the past in the city.

It called for more responsibility on the side of the citizens in complementing government's efforts, and not to see flooding in the state as a political issue.

The statement partly read: "This year alone, flooding is reported in the US, India, Spain, Australia, UK, Germany, Brazil, Thailand, France, South Africa, Kenya, Italy, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, etal.

"On Thursday, September 2, the AFP reported that at least seven people died in New York alone after the city was flooded, as Storm Ida wreaked havoc, forcing flight cancellations and state of emergency declarations. The report added that Ida slammed into Louisiana, causing severe flooding and tornadoes, causing destruction in the area. Brooklyn, Queens City, Philadelphia were also badly hit.

"Across Nigeria, the challenge of flooding is replete. In Niger, Jigawa, Bauchi, Adamawa, Lagos, Osun, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, etcetera, there are sad tales of flooding. Imo State is not left out in the list. The problem became worse in Imo following the series of demolitions, road expansion works and technical errors/or incompetence on the part of the Government from 2011 to 2019, leading to destruction of flood control mechanisms across the State Capital.

"We acknowledge the fact that Government is a continuum. The State Government led by Governor Hope Uzodimma acknowledges this fact as well. This can be seen by the novel approach the Government is adopting to holistically tackle the challenge. The impressive flood control works going on in Owerri, especially the novel Baloon Technology with four collection centres at Dick-Tiger, MCC/Chukwuma Nwaoha, Trans-Egbu and Mbaise Road Park, is commendable.

"The recent flooding witnessed in some parts of Owerri was therefore as a result of ongoing construction works, which the Government is addressing urgently. Government has also commenced another round of de-silting the drainage and would soon address the menace of flooding in Akwakuma and other areas.

As Imo people, we need not see the challenge of flooding as a political problem. It is a natural disaster that spares no nation, state or political party. Flooding is no respecter of developed nations, it is no respecter of underdeveloped nations either.

"The challenge of flooding will not go away with a wave of the hand. Government will do a lot to address it. Understanding this will not only help us plan better, it will as well equip us to respond better in such times.

"No Governor is God. No Governor possesses the magic wand. Things work with time, and not even the best medical doctor would wave a magic wand and a sick patient gets up.

"We can be patient with the Government, because construction work takes time. As it is, the Government is adequately addressing the problem. With the paucity of funds, Government is juggling a lot of competing responsibilities to address the challenge, because flooding could be life threatening. That is why the Government has prioritised it.

"We are Imo people and we love our State.

[b][/b]The Global Association of Concerned Imo Youths, GACIY, has accused the Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being responsible for the recent cloning of a digital copy of ThisDay newspaper which bore a malicious banner headline against the State Governor and circulating the same online.

The affected national tabloid has since distanced itself from the digital copy that went viral, but in making its allegation, GACIY described the party in the State as a "cyber terrorist organization."

This was contained in a statement signed by the group's convener, Collins Ughalaa, and made available to newsmen on Monday September 6, 2020, wherein it also alleged that the party was as well culpable of manufacturing and circulating several similar fake news in the year 2020.

It called on security agencies to investigate Imo PDP for the alleged cases of impersonation, forgery and fake news propagation, insisting that the party's aim was to tear the State into shreds simply because it lost power following a judgment of the Supreme Court on January 14, 2020.

The State read: "The Global Association of Concerned Imo Youths wishes to state categorically that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State and their agents were behind the cloning and online circulation of the digital edition of ThisDay newspaper, with the headline: “SHOCKING: UZODIMMA DECLARES FREE MARRIAGE BETWEEN FULANI SETTLERS AND IMO LADIES, on Friday, August 27, 2021.

"Incidentally, the lead story on Friday, August 27 edition of ThisDay newspaper was: “Buhari Elated as NNPC Breaks Jinx, Declares N287bn Profit, First in 44 Years”. But through their evil machinations the PDP was able to clone the digital edition of the newspaper to further malign Governor Hope Uzodimma.

"This revelation is the fruit of painstaking, forensic investigations into the matter. The act committed by the PDP amounts to cyber terrorism. And since the PDP has been in this inglorious act since 2020 when it lost the reins of power in the State, we are forced to believe that the party is a cyber terrorist organisation.

"With the latest fawning attitude, it has become clear also that the PDP has become a vampire and cannibal, and glory has departed from the party, as it is now clawing on any available straw.

"It is sad that the PDP, a party that governed Imo State for over ten years, has abandoned its core functions as a political party and as the major opposition party in the State and instead took to criminal activities alien to party politics and decent society. These acts include cyber stalking and cyber terrorism.

"We recall how the PDP told barefaced lies in 2020 that some herdsmen were quartered in forests in Orlu Zone. The ravages resulting from that false alarm and despicable deception by the PDP is yet to abate. Ontop of that, the party does not consider it fit and proper to profusely apologise and seek the face of God. Rather the party appears emboldened in its nefarious ways.

"Last year, the State was replete with fake press releases and false alarms from the PDP. On one occasion during the tough days of the Coronavirus Pandemic when the Federa lGovernment banned foreign travels, the PDP raised the false alarm that the State Government brought in foreigners. The party also created a false picture of the Governor, portraying him as a military dictator and circulated it on various social media platforms.

"The latest cyber terrorism of the Imo PDP, which is the cloning of the digital edition of ThisDay newspaper, is no doubt a heinous crime, a mortal sin. The PDP has sinned against the Holy Spirit. What the PDP has done is a crime against Nigeria, a crime against free speech and the integrity of journalism in Nigeria.

"Ordinarily, we have no qualms with any Imo person choosing to marry a Northerner or a Northerner choosing to marry an Igbo man. After all, there are such marriages. Nigeria is not so bad that we cannot inter marry, mix up, school together, attend church and mosque together, or even do business together.

"Of a fact, PDP leaders have friends in the North and take traditional titles from Northern communities. They do contracts for governments in the North. But as a vampire and cyber terrorist that it is, the PDP tried to put a wedge among Nigerians by attempting to further polarize Nigerians among North and Igbo divides, instead of contributing to cement the country's unity. That was why they falsely claimed that marriage between Northerners and Imo ladies has become State policy, and for free!

"We wonder why the PDP would dicipate energy on dividing Nigeria or causing commotion in Imo State instead of making efforts to solve its eternal problems and stop the sharp divide among its State Excos. The mutiny in the PDP State Exco is big enough to engage a serious party instead of spending time scheming on dividing Nigeria and setting brothers against brothers.

"While we call on security agencies in the State to beam their light on the PDP with a view to arresting its leaders for such heinous crimes to serve as deterrent, we call on the party to save itself the shame by atoning its sin, by apologising to Imo people.

"We cannot allow the PDP to tear our State into shreds just because it failed to overcome its loss of power on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. Imo does not belong to PDP; Imo belongs to Imo people."[color=#990000][/color]