Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State says his administration has reduced the state’s debt burden from N126 billion to N97 billion — a 23 per cent drop — as part of ongoing financial reforms aimed at repositioning the state’s economy.
Speaking during a State of the State Address at the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Uzodimma said the reduction is a testament to prudent financial management and strategic fiscal reforms undertaken by his administration.
He also highlighted the deployment of a digital revenue collection system that has helped eliminate leakages, improve transparency, and increase monthly internally generated revenue from N1.8 billion to nearly N4 billion.
The governor said Imo has climbed from 33rd to 13th in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking between 2021 and 2023 due to ongoing reforms, including the implementation of business-enabling measures and investor-friendly policies.
As part of social protection efforts, Uzodimma revealed that under the Imo-Cares initiative—Nigeria’s COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus programme—over 400 households have received direct support while 98 communities have benefitted from development interventions.
He also announced that the state is partnering with the Nigeria Capital Development Fund on a new affordable housing project, with the first phase of 500 units already underway.
On human capital development, the governor said 40,000 youths have been trained and equipped with startup toolkits under the state’s digital skills programme, which targets training 300,000 youths.
He expressed appreciation to the House of Assembly, commending Speaker Chike Olemgbe and members for their consistent support and legislative cooperation.
Speaker Olemgbe in his response praised the governor for the tangible achievements recorded since the start of his tenure, noting that the projects are visible and verifiable.
