ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR HOPE UZODIMMA AT THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF HIS BOOK: A DECADE OF IMPACTFUL PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA, OWERRI, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
GOVERNOR HOPE UZODIMMA BOOK PRESENTATION
Your Excellency, Mr. President, distinguished guests, esteemed members of our great party, I warmly welcome you to this special occasion; the public presentation of my latest book, A Decade of Impactful Progressive Governance in Nigeria.
Looking across this hall and seeing leaders of our party, scholars, traditional rulers, the clergy, and friends gathered under one roof, I am reminded once again that Nigeria’s story is never written by one person. It is written together and that is exactly why we are here.
This book is the product of months of deep reflection, careful research, and honest writing. It offers a clear account of the APC’s journey in government from 2015 to 2025: the milestones, the challenges, and the lessons. More than a record of events, it is a reference point for where we’ve been and a guide for where we must go.
For me, the moment feels like the birth of something meaningful. After all the long hours and intense work, this book is now no longer mine alone; it belongs to the APC family, and indeed to the Nigerian people.
I was partly inspired to write this book out of curiosity. I know that the All Progressives Congress entered government in 2015 with enormous expectations on its shoulders. We inherited a fragile economy, deep security challenges, and a weary citizenry. Over the next decade, we faced storms, some of them global, some of them homegrown. Yet, at every turn, Nigerians looked up to us for answers. So my curiosity was to find out if we provided the answers after ten years.
This is my fourth book, and certainly the most demanding. I approached it not necessarily as a political figure but as a citizen with a responsibility to document this pivotal decade in our national history. I felt duty-bound to tell the story, as it is, no sugar-coat.
I must first acknowledge our leader, the President and Father of the Nation, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR whose pragmatic ideas and decisive leadership inspired many of the chapters you’ll find in this book.
When I first mentioned the idea of this book, the response was unanimous: “Yes, it’s time.” And I agreed because not only did we need to document what we’ve done, but many, even within our party, don’t realise the full extent of what has been achieved.
As I dug into the data and stories, what I discovered surprised even me. There’s a depth and seriousness to our efforts in government that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves.
From the moment APC made history in 2015 by defeating an incumbent party, it was clear we had become more than just a political vehicle. We became a movement, a courageous response to the yearnings of Nigerians for real change. That momentum has carried us through three national elections, each one reaffirming the trust placed in us by the people.
As I began digging into the material, I was struck by the scale of what had been done, much of it unnoticed or quickly forgotten. The roads and bridges, the rail projects, the growth of agriculture, the digital economy, healthcare reforms, the fight against insecurity, and the bold fiscal policies. They may not all have been perfect, but they shifted Nigeria in a direction we could not ignore.
Documenting these developments reminded me that the work of governance is often thankless in the moment, but its impact unfolds over time.
Again, I must pay tribute here to the leadership of our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. His courage and clarity have carried this party and this country through many transitions. Long before he became President, his ideas and his persistence shaped the progressive family. Many of the reforms we now take for granted had their roots in his insistence that Nigeria must do things differently.
Let me paraphrase from my book on the role our visionary president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, played in the formation of APC as the arrow head in 2013. The milestone occurred under his watch because he is used to scoring firsts. It was he that worked relentlessly to bring together like minds in 2013 to found the All Progressives Congress (APC). It was this coalition of what looked like a cacophony of strange bedfellows that this legendary political leader and patriot of high repute, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, knit together to form a formidable family of common political ideas that ousted an incumbent government in 2015.
This happened because in the two years between its founding and first electoral triumph, the APC had come together to present a clean break from a system that had grown arrogant, complacent and insulated from the realities of Nigerians. So to a very large extent, the unprecedented electoral triumph of APC in 2015, was largely due to the political dexterity and flexibility of our own Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who by the special grace of God became president of Nigeria in 2023!
The same must be said of his predecessor in office, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who carried the baton at a different stage of this journey. He left a mark, contributed to the building of a party and a government that Nigerians could believe in.
I am grateful too for the steady hand of our Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, our party leadership under Professor Yilwatda Nentawe, and my colleagues in the Progressive Governors’ Forum. Their encouragement gave me the energy to keep going whenever the writing seemed too heavy.
What stands out is not only what we promised but how consistently we have worked to deliver it. More importantly, I hope this book reminds us that the APC is not just a party to win elections. It is built on values: equity, inclusion, service, and discipline. These values must always shape how we govern.
Of course, no governing party is without its critics. Reforms are hard. Painful. And sometimes misunderstood. But they are also necessary, the only path to long-term prosperity. The truth is: some interests who benefited from old, broken systems are bound to resist change. But Nigerians, as always, are seeing through the white noise. They can see the new roads. The new rails. The stabilizing economy. The growing opportunities.
That is why I consider this book timely, as a record of the past as well as a rallying point. To that end, I will ensure that copies are distributed to all APC structures from the national level to the wards in every LGA. We will also work to digitise the book, making it available to every Nigerian. This is my contribution to deepening the party’s internal education and public accountability.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, our reviewer has already done justice to the book. But allow me, as the author, to briefly tease each chapter, just enough to whet your appetite for the full text.
CHAPTER ONE DEALS WITH THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF PROGRESSIVE POLITICS IN NIGERIA
This chapter takes us back, long before APC came into power, to the traditions of progressive politics in our country. It traces the ideas of social justice, equity, and people-centred governance that ran through earlier movements and parties. That history matters because it explains why Nigerians welcomed the APC project.
CHAPTER TWO – UNDERSTANDING PROGRESSIVISM IN THE NIGERIAN CONTEXT
This chapter explains what progressivism really means when applied to our society. It is not an imported slogan but a philosophy that speaks to our Nigerian realities of community, solidarity, inclusion, and service.
The chapter makes the case that our version of progressivism is practical, not abstract. It showcases how progressivism has shaped our policies and distinguished our approach as the politics of inclusion.
CHAPTER THREE – THE APC MANIFESTO AND CORE POLICIES
Every party must be judged by what it promises and what it pursues. This chapter lays out the manifesto APC took to Nigerians in 2015 and renewed in 2019 and 2023
The chapter reflects on how these commitments gave direction to government action. It highlights the consistency of our message which is to build a country where prosperity is broad-based and institutions are strong.
CHAPTER FOUR – A DECADE OF GOVERNANCE: SECTORAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Here, the focus shifts from promises to delivery. The chapter surveys achievements sector by sector. It is a wide lens on how the APC decade touched daily life. The point is not to claim perfection but to present evidence that steady progress was made, even in difficult times.
CHAPTER FIVE – PROGRESSIVE POLICIES IN ACTION
Policies mean little until they are felt in people’s lives. This chapter brings the policies down to earth: the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme that empowered farmers, the National Social Investment Programme that supported the poor, school feeding for pupils, and interventions in housing and jobs. The lesson is that progressive governance must translate from paper into action that touches communities.
CHAPTER SIX – COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: PRE-APC VS APC ERA (2005–2015 VS 2015–2025)
This chapter provides contrast. It looks back at the decade before APC came to power and sets it against the decade of APC governance. The comparison is not to trade blame but to understand differences.
CHAPTER SEVEN – THE APC’S APPROACH TO INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE
Progressive politics must embrace inclusion. This chapter highlights how the APC advanced women’s participation, gave youth more voice, and carried minorities and disadvantaged groups along in policy design. It underlines the importance of recognising diversity as a strength, not a weakness.
CHAPTER EIGHT – NIGERIA ON THE GLOBAL STAGE
The decade also witnessed Nigeria asserting itself more confidently abroad. This chapter reviews foreign policy engagements, peacekeeping contributions, trade partnerships, and regional leadership.
CHAPTER NINE – CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Every journey has obstacles, and the APC decade was no exception. This chapter reflects on insecurity, economic shocks, global crises like COVID-19, and internal party tensions. It admits where mistakes were made but also identifies what was learnt.
CHAPTER TEN – THE WAY FORWARD FOR PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA
The closing chapter looks ahead. It gathers the lessons of ten years and asks: what next? It outlines priorities: sustaining reforms, deepening inclusiveness, diversifying the economy, and strengthening democracy. This final chapter invites every Nigerian to see themselves as part of the journey to a stronger future.
CONCLUSION
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, before I close, a word on timing. This book was finalised and published in May 2025. Naturally, it carries a cut-off point. History does not wait for anyone, and events have already moved forward since the last chapter was written.
What has happened since then only strengthens the spirit of the book. At the time I was writing, the signs of recovery were visible. Today, those signs have matured into tangible progress. Inflation has dropped to levels not seen in years. The prices of food staples which once climbed painfully, are coming down. The Naira, which had been under pressure, has regained stability. State governments now have access to stronger revenues, giving us the resources to invest in our people with greater confidence.
Equally important is Nigeria’s trade performance. For six consecutive quarters, that is, about one and a half years since the middle of 2023, our country has recorded a trade surplus. In simple words, we are selling more to the world than we are buying. In the first quarter of this year, the surplus stood at over five trillion naira. By the second quarter, it had jumped by more than forty percent to over seven trillion Naira. Exports rose, imports dipped, and for the first time in a long time, non-oil exports like manufactured goods and solid minerals were part of the driving force. This is what a healthier economy looks like; an economy that earns more than it spends, that creates jobs at home, and that strengthens our currency abroad.
For us in Imo State, these improvements are the fuel behind an infrastructure renaissance that touches every local government. Roads, bridges, and urban renewal projects are moving at a speed that was once impossible. Beyond infrastructure, the new fiscal space has allowed us to invest in people: in education, in healthcare, in welfare, agriculture and food security.
One area that gives me special pride is how we have treated workers and pensioners in our state. For years, Imo workers cried out for wages that reflect their effort and the realities of daily life. I dare say without any fear of contradiction that Imo workers are happier today than they were some years ago. Our senior citizens, who once endured neglect, now receive their dues promptly and respectfully. The truth is that the progressive ideas of our great party are steadily transforming the Imo State economic landscape. A new Imo is on the rise.
None of this happened in a vacuum. It is the outcome of visionary and determined leadership at the centre. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has led with clarity, taking brave decisions that others might have avoided, and giving states the room to flourish. The reforms he has championed are not easy, but they are already yielding results that Nigerians can feel. For this, Mr. President, I express my deepest gratitude, not only on my behalf but on behalf of millions who now see hope where once they saw only despair.
Considering the transformative impact of the President’s government on the lives of Imo people, and knowing that his visionary policies have rekindled in us the hope of a better future, we in Imo State have resolved to stand firmly behind him for a second term in office come 2027.
So, as we present this book today, let us remember that it is more than a record of the past. It is also a rallying point for the future. The decade it captures has ended, but the journey of progressive governance is far from finished. The task before us is to keep building, to stay faithful to the principles of service, inclusion, and discipline, and to ensure that the progress we celebrate today becomes the foundation for greater achievements tomorrow.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, given all that I have outlined, which is only a tip of the iceberg, does it not stand to reason that the man who, through rare courage, sheer determination, and rugged political will, took the hard decisions necessary to renew our hope, should be allowed to finish the good work he has begun?
I therefore call on every well-meaning Nigerian, across party lines and regions, to rally behind this progressive extraordinaire, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in 2027. Let us give him the support he needs to consolidate these gains and deliver even greater prosperity for our people.
Distinguished guests, I thank you all again for honouring me with your presence. I thank the
President, the Vice President, the National Chairman of our party, my fellow Governors, the Book Presenter, our Royal Fathers, the Book Reviewer, and every Nigerian who has stood with us on this journey.
May this book serve as a reminder of how far we have come and as an encouragement for how far we can still go.
Thank you, and God bless.
Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON
Governor of Imo State
Chairman, Progressive Governors’ Forum