A delegation of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and the presidential communications office toured a string of Federal and States projects in Imo State on Wednesday, presenting the visits as evidence of growing cooperation between President Bola Tinubu’s administration and Governor Hope Uzodimma.
The National Media Tour, organised by the Governor-led Renewed Hope Ambassadors in collaboration with the presidential media team, brought more than 40 senior journalists to inspect major transport, education and health works across the south-east.
Director of Media and Publicity of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors Tunde Rahman in a statement said the initiative was intended to give Nigerians direct information about the progress of infrastructure projects and to promote transparency and accountability.
He said, visited included the completed 56km Okigwe–Owerri road, the 36km Owerri–Obowo–Umuahia road and the ongoing upgrade of the runway at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport.
Delegates also inspected the former Alvan Ikoku College of Education in Owerri, recently redesignated as a federal university of education, and the Federal Medical Centre Owerri, which has been elevated to a teaching hospital attached to a federal university of technology.
Declan Emelumba, Imo’s commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, described the projects as the fruit of a “strong partnership” between state and federal authorities.
He said the airport expansion — which includes plans for eight modern warehouses for storage and cargo handling — is intended to develop the facility into a logistics and export hub to support agricultural exports and attract investment to the south-east.
Emelumba also attributed some of the state’s investment capacity to what he called an expanded fiscal space made available to subnational governments following President Tinubu’s economic reforms.
He said the University upgrade, achieved within the last year, ended a long-standing local campaign to convert the college — one of the country’s older federal colleges of education — into a university, a change that has already attracted TETFUND support and created jobs for residents.
“The upgrade was dear to every government that has ruled Imo State but none was able to accomplish it until the coming of Governor Hope Uzodimma,” Emelumba said, adding that enhanced funding had allowed the state to accelerate infrastructure delivery and to complement federal interventions in transport, health and education.
Tunde Rahman, who is also President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Special Duties said the projects demonstrated the benefits of aligning state priorities with the federal Renewed Hope Agenda.
He praised Uzodimma for pursuing projects that dovetail with Federal programmes, and highlighted education initiatives intended to keep indigent students in school.
Members of the media team and visiting journalists praised the pace and quality of the works they inspected, saying the sites provided visible proof, in their view, of collaborative governance under the Renewed Hope banner.
