Political tensions in Imo State have taken a sharper and more dramatic turn as the Executive Director of Civic Action for Democracy (CAD), Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, issued a blistering indictment of the member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, accusing him of dishonesty, ineffectiveness, and what he described as a grave betrayal of the people who entrusted him with their mandate.
In a strongly worded statement released on Monday in Abuja, Ngoforo accused the federal lawmaker of habitually appropriating credit for projects he neither initiated nor facilitated, particularly those executed by the administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma in Ideato land.
At the centre of the controversy is the Orlu–Mgbee–Umuchima–Akokwa Road, a major artery currently nearing completion. Ngoforo described as “shameful and misleading” claims being circulated by Ugochinyere and his hirelings that the road was facilitated through the federal government by the legislator.
“This is not only false; it is an insult to the intelligence of the Ideato people,” Ngoforo declared.
According to him, project facilitation by a federal lawmaker is a clearly defined process; one that involves nominating projects into the federal budget, defending them during legislative reviews, lobbying relevant ministries and agencies, and ensuring implementation. Ngoforo argued that no iota of evidence exists that Ugochinyere undertook any of these steps in relation to the road in question.
He further reinforced his argument by recalling Governor Uzodimma’s public and repeated assertion, that his administration has never received refunds from the federal government for federal roads undertaken in Imo State.
The governor, Ngoforo noted, has consistently explained that he proceeds with such projects out of necessity and compassion for the people, rather than waiting endlessly for federal bureaucracy.
Against this backdrop, Ngoforo painted a grim picture of what he described as a total absence of federal presence in Ideato, despite Ugochinyere’s position in the National Assembly.
More damning, according to the CAD director, is the lawmaker’s tenure as Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream); a strategic committee with enormous leverage in Nigeria’s most important sector. Ngoforo fumed that, despite occupying such a powerful position, Ugochinyere has failed to secure a single employment opportunity for Ideato sons and daughters in the petroleum industry, including the NNPC and its subsidiaries.
He further accused the lawmaker of deploying his influence largely in service of private corporate interests, particularly the Dangote Group, without translating such proximity into jobs, contracts, or measurable benefits for his constituents.
“Ideato people see the Dangote Group flourish and vehemently defended by their lawmaker, but they see no Ideato youth employed, no Ideato contractor empowered, no Ideato community lifted,” Ngoforo lamented.
The criticism extended to economic empowerment. Ngoforo described it as tragic that a constituency renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit has been denied awareness, mentorship, access and contacts to intervention funds from federal institutions such as the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), institutions that disburse billions of naira regularly to entrepreneurs and small businesses across Nigeria.
Perhaps the most emotionally charged segment of the statement was Ngoforo’s reflection on Ideato’s lost glory. He recalled the 1980s and 1990s when the area stood as a thriving industrial and commercial hub of the South-East, buoyed by its strategic location and vibrant private sector. Today, he said, that promise has withered, with once-proud enterprises, including the iconic Ibeneme Motors, reduced to memories.
According to Ngoforo, this decline demanded visionary leadership, regular constituency engagements, and a coherent socio-economic revival agenda. He accused Ugochinyere of providing none of these, hinting that the lawmaker has never held any constituency briefing nor mobilised stakeholders around a development blueprint for Ideato.
The statement took an even more controversial turn with what Ngoforo described as a political double game. He alleged that Ugochinyere continues to encourage supporters to align with the Action Peoples Party (APP), a party Ngoforo noted was deregistered by INEC in 2020, with the action upheld by the Supreme Court two years later.
Ngoforo argued that Ugochinyere is fully aware of the party’s legal status, which explains why he contested the 2023 general election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and fought all through to secure the ticket of the party. He stated further that while publicly promoting a defunct party, the lawmaker is quietly negotiating for an ADC ticket ahead of 2027.
In a scathing conclusion, Ngoforo called on the people of Ideato to “reclaim their mandate”, describing the current representation as “inept, chaotic, visionless, unpatriotic, loud, insulting and deceitful.”
He accused the lawmaker of treating constituents with unprecedented disdain, citing as particularly bizarre the fact that no Ideato indigene is employed in Ugochinyere’s legislative office, a situation he said is virtually unheard of among Nigerian lawmakers since independence.
Efforts to obtain a response from Hon. Ugochinyere were unsuccessful, as calls to his known phone lines were neither answered nor returned as of the time of filing this report.
Political observers say the statement has injected new intensity into Imo State’s political atmosphere, signalling that the road to 2027 may be far more turbulent, especially in Ideato land where questions of performance, credibility, and representation are now being loudly and publicly contested.
