The Imo State government, on Monday, dismissed rumors suggesting that the federal government had established an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in the Ehime Mbano Council Area. The state’s Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation, and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, clarified the situation during a press briefing in Owerri, following widespread speculation.
The government expressed concern that “enemies of Nigeria” were distorting information from the National Refugees Commission in an attempt to create division between Igbos and other parts of the country. Emelumba explained that the facility under construction in Nsu was a skills acquisition center for the people of the South East, not an IDP camp for individuals from other regions of Nigeria.
Emelumba accused Uba, a well-known propagandist, of deliberately twisting the news to incite Igbos against Northerners, thereby destabilizing the nation and undermining President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government. He referred to Uba’s previous hate speech campaigns and called on security agencies to take action, accusing him of using disinformation to provoke unrest.
The commissioner emphasized that the training center in Ehime Mbano is part of a nationwide initiative, with each geopolitical zone having its own center. There was never any plan to bring refugees from the North or West to Imo for training. He urged the people of Ehime Mbano and the Okigwe zone to ignore Uba’s inflammatory remarks and reject his calls to rise against the federal government.
Additionally, Emelumba accused Uba of reviving false ThisDay publications to stir insecurity, including fabrications that Governor Hope Uzodimma planned to marry off Imo women to Fulani settlers. The commissioner condemned these actions as part of a larger plot to increase insecurity in the state.