Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has said the era of paying Nigerians N1,000 or N2,000 to fill political rallies has ended, arguing that citizens should instead be empowered to take responsibility for their own livelihoods and the country’s future.
Uzodimma made the remarks during the General Assembly of the Association of All Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, held in Imo State. He said President Bola Tinubu’s governing vision was encouraging Nigerians to assume ownership of both their personal destinies and national development, adding that Imo State supported the president’s agenda.
Addressing beneficiaries at the gathering, the governor said 1,000 households were represented and urged them to begin planting crops immediately near their homes. “We have 1,000 households seated here today, and we are beginning with these 1,000, while we will do more,” he said. “What I want to hear is that by tomorrow you have begun planting. It does not take long; plant close to your home, and within a few months you will begin to harvest.”
He congratulated Tinubu on what he described as a new approach built around wisdom and self-reliance. Uzodimma told the beneficiaries to remember the president when they returned home, noting that many attendees were wearing Bola Tinubu-branded shirts.
“You can see that the period when people were invited to political gatherings, called to huge rallies from morning until evening and handed N1,000 or N2,000 is over,” Uzodimma said. “That was the old order. It has passed, and we want a new order.”
The governor said Imo State was satisfied with Tinubu’s leadership style and policy direction, adding that the president could “take our words to the bank.” He said the state wanted broad-based prosperity and hoped that Nigeria’s economic progress would begin in Imo State.
