The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has launched a blistering attack on the administration of Hope Uzodinma, dismissing the recently publicised “Central Drug Store” initiative as a massive propaganda project allegedly designed to conceal what the group described as the “total collapse” of healthcare and public infrastructure across Imo State.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, the rights group accused the Imo State Government of allegedly deploying aggressive media campaigns and political public relations tactics to manufacture what it called a false image of progress while residents continue to battle deteriorating hospitals, insecurity, failed infrastructure, and worsening living conditions.
HURIWA said attempts to portray Imo State as a modern healthcare destination amounted to “an insult to suffering citizens,” insisting that the reality across many communities sharply contradicts the glowing narratives being promoted by government supporters.
According to the group, the so-called Central Drug Store may appear impressive in political speeches and newspaper headlines, but the broader healthcare system needed to sustain such an initiative has allegedly collapsed across most parts of the state.
The association alleged that more than 79 percent of communities in Imo State remain disconnected from the national grid and survive largely through self-help electricity arrangements powered by private generators, while over 75 percent of rural communities allegedly lack functional public hospitals.
HURIWA further claimed that many primary healthcare centres across the state have become abandoned structures plagued by decaying facilities, shortage of medical personnel, obsolete equipment, and total neglect.
“In many communities across Imo State, there are no functional government hospitals, no stable electricity, no drugs, no doctors, no nurses, and no emergency response systems,” the group stated.
“Pregnant women, sick children, and elderly residents are forced to depend on private clinics in Owerri, Orlu, and Okigwe because many government healthcare institutions in rural communities are practically dead.”
The rights group questioned how medicines from the Central Drug Store would effectively reach rural healthcare centres allegedly operating without roads, electricity, refrigeration systems, or medical personnel.
“How do you distribute drugs to healthcare facilities that are inaccessible, abandoned, or existing only on government documents and propaganda pages?” HURIWA queried.
The association also accused the state government of allegedly prioritising propaganda over governance while rural communities remain trapped in poverty, infrastructural decay, and rising insecurity.
HURIWA raised fresh concerns over alleged security threats facing several forests and rural communities across parts of the state, claiming that armed criminal groups continue to operate in some local government areas without decisive action from authorities.
According to the group, many residents allegedly feel abandoned as security operations appear concentrated around urban centres and major highways while vulnerable communities remain exposed.
The association further alleged that several security checkpoints along federal roads have increasingly become centres of extortion rather than effective protection for commuters and residents.
HURIWA insisted that any honest assessment of governance in Imo State must confront what it described as the widespread collapse of roads, public schools, healthcare centres, electricity infrastructure, and public confidence in leadership.
The group also revisited hospital projects initiated during the administration of former Governor Rochas Okorocha, alleging that many of the multi-billion-naira specialist hospitals announced at the time remain abandoned and uncompleted despite huge public investments.
The association questioned why the current administration has allegedly failed to publicly disclose the outcome of investigations into abandoned projects and alleged financial activities linked to previous administrations.
“If transparency truly exists in Imo State, the public deserves to know what happened to the billions reportedly committed to abandoned hospital projects and who benefited from those funds,” HURIWA said.
The group warned against what it described as “governance by illusion,” insisting that media campaigns cannot replace genuine development or erase the suffering of ordinary citizens.
HURIWA maintained that meaningful healthcare reform requires functioning hospitals, trained personnel, stable electricity, accessible roads, operational ambulances, modern medical equipment, and affordable healthcare delivery — not what it called “political branding exercises disconnected from grassroots realities.”
The organisation called on the Imo State Government to urgently rebuild public institutions, rehabilitate rural healthcare centres, restore electricity infrastructure, improve security, complete abandoned hospital projects, and restore public confidence through transparent governance.