The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is expected in Owerri, Imo State, later today to commission the Dick Tiger road project as part of the activities marking the one-year anniversary of the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
This is coming even as his plan to visit the Owerri prison where over 90 percent of the inmates were recently set free by alleged IPOB members is still hazy as at the time of filing this report.
The Vice President, who had some weeks ago attended the thanksgiving service that kicked off the anniversary, is returning for the road commissioning on the invitation of the State Governor.
The previously flood-prone Dick Tiger Road is about 3km long and its rehabilitation by the Imo State Governor is said to have brought life back to the area which was becoming desolate because of the sorry nature of the road before the advent of Governor Hope Uzodinma.
The Governor had indicated earlier during the thanksgiving service weeks ago that the VP would be coming back during the anniversary to commission some milestone project.
Today’s visit is a realization of that plan.
It was not clear whether the VP, while in the State, will take out time to visit the Imo State Police Command and the Federal Correctional facility that was attacked midnight Monday by some gunmen suspected to belong to a separatist group operating in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
Imo State Government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity explained that the VP had been invited to the State before the attacks of Monday on the Federal Government institutions in the State, adding that visiting the sites of the attack was not on the itinerary of the Vice President as at this morning. But they confirmed that the VP is expected later in the day in the State capital.
In a Presidential statement yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari condemned “the deadly insurgent attack that took place on the Police Command Headquarters and the Correctional Facility in Owerri, Imo State, on Monday, calling it an act of terrorism.”
In his reaction to the incident early on Monday, President Buhari in a statement signed by his Spokesman Mallam Garba Shehu “praised the initial response by security guards and security forces for preventing greater loss of life and the destruction of public property.
“The President directed security and intelligence agencies in the state and the geo-political zone to fully mobilize and go after the terrorists, apprehend them and get them punished under the full weight of the law.
“He also called for the best efforts to be made to re-arrest fleeing prison detainees, many of whom are believed to be deadly criminals.
“President Buhari then appealed to members of the public to assist the law enforcement agencies with any relevant information that could lead to the apprehension of these criminals who perpetrated this despicable act.
“He also urged members of the public to be vigilant as all of us have a stake in preserving our way of life from disruption by terrorists and anarchists while the Federal Government will use every available tool at its disposal to confront and terminate this bare-faced anarchy.”
The Vice President is expected to return to Abuja today after the commissioning of the Dick Tiger Road project in Owerri.