By Ebuka Afam-Echi
June 22 (Newshour.com.ng) – The Accord candidate in Imo State for the 2023 governorship election, Ikenga John Jude Okere has assured that when he assumed office in November, the state would be the talk of the nation.
He gave the promise in Owerri during the week while addressing a section of the media who accosted him seeking to know his program of action on the disorderliness experienced in the state.
The Ngor Okpala born politician restated that he would transform the state tremendously in terms of aesthetics, cleanliness, inject orderliness in the conduct of social activities and eliminating all manner of inhuman tendencies people exhibit in the way the conduct their respective affairs.
According to him, “It subtracts from the leadership that in all we do, especially in obtaining government services and other public forum, we cannot demonstrate decorum as people fail to take their turns. Instead they jump queues, shunt, fight and use touts or agents to take advantage of others’’
Continuing, he said, “Under my watch my policy of inclusiveness will ensure that everyone will get what is due to him because the process will not only be transparent but also orderly as no one will be allowed to beat queues or take undue advantage. Mark my words, this will be achieved because how to do it is my personal secret”
Ikenga Okere further warned that Imolites who were in the habit of drinking, eating and littering the environment should have a rethink because they would no longer have such opportunity. When reminded that there are already rules and regulations to this effect, he fired back at the newshound to query why the state is still dirty.
This is where he promised to close the gap because according to him there is something the present authorities are not doing right. “That is where I am going to make the difference”, he declared with confidence.
Elaborating on his program of action, the Accord candidate assured that the level of discipline that would flow in the state would stop people from driving against traffic, respect one way order, abolish all the illegal parks dotted here and there and which has sustained hooliganism through touts
In his words, ”There is going to be a Central Park in the state capital and other major towns in the state. With this, there will be no parking on the the roads. This will ensure orderliness in the state”.
He again remarked that so much is hinged on leadership in setting the right examples insisting that it is easy to get the people to do what is right if their leaders have set the pace.
Okere promised that one major effort to achieve this is strengthening the state Orientation Agency in bringing people closer to the government through mass communication. He maintained that Imo people no doubt are law abiding citizens and would waste no time complying if the government programs and activities are motivating enough.
One of the major challenges impeding development in our land is the gross deficit in discipline behavior. Indiscipline manifests at all levels of our national life. There is a culture of indiscipline very well known to all and sundry including the leadership but unfortunately every effort designed at stemming it has not gone beyond lip service.
Sadly, some of these conducts which if curbed can lead us to a decent society has been taken for granted. People have had to believe erroneously because attention is not drawn to these that some of these misconducts we exhibit every moment is the way to go. It is clear that people are not oriented on the proper way to behave.
This is also the case with our leadership who supposed to show exemplary conduct but is doing the reverse. It is disappointing that some of them travel abroad and even after seeing how organized those societies are, rather than take a cue they return here to promote indiscipline all in the name of leadership.