Category: South East

Senate Deputy President Ovie Omo-Agege and Delta State House of Assembly Speaker Sheriff Oborevwori have advocated peace, unity and building bridges of relationship between the Urhobo and their neighbours.

They spoke at the Day 1 of the 90th Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) anniversary, at Urhobo Cultural Centre, Uvwiamuge-Agbarho, tagged: ‘The Challenges and Prospects of Urhobo Progress Union in Contemporary Times’.

Omo-Agege said that the challenges of unity did not come about overnight, but because they failed to build on the foundation of unity and brotherhood, which their forebears, Chief Mukoro Mowoe, T.E.A. Salubi “and others laboured to establish for us.”

He said they watched helplessly as pendulum swung too far towards individualism, adding that a nation that was once the envy of other nationalities could no longer speak with one voice.

Omo-Agege identified falling educational standard, loss of economic power, political marginalisation, violence, crime, youth unemployment and insecurity as major threats to Urhobo nation.

Read Also; Omo-Agege tasks Igbos on dialogue

He said: “Unemployment has become a major problem bedevilling the lives of our youths, causing militancy, kidnapping, youth restiveness and social delinquent behaviour. This unemployment is devastating our people, families and the society as a whole.

“Urhobo nation had a thriving economy in the past as great farmers and fishermen, but these have gone. We must turn the situation around quickly by having a rethink on our approach to community development.”

Speaker Oborevwori urged UPU to build on the existing relationship with other ethnic nationalities across the state and Nigeria.

Oborevwori, who the chaired the opening ceremony of the event, said he was proud of the achievements of UPU in the last 90 years.

“I advise that we continue to build on our relationship with other ethnic nationalities in the state and the country as Nigeria’s foremost socio-cultural organisation. Being 90 truly calls for celebration.

“The UPU as an umbrella body of all Urhobo at home and in the diaspora has a long history of landmark accomplishments because the dream of the founding fathers of UPU is to unite the Urhobo and be a strong voice on issues bothering the Urhobo nation,” he said.

The funeral of Madam Edith Awuletey, who died on July 3, will  take place on Saturday.

A statement by the family said a service of songs will hold on Friday.

The statement said lying-in -state will be observed on Saturday.

Read Also: Ganduje, Zulum, Saraki in Kano for Sani Dangote’s burial

It said internment will follow after a brief service at the Winners Chapel at Asaba-Ase in Ndokwa East Local Government of Delta State.

A thanksgiving service holds at the same church on Sunday.

She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Patience Ebulu and three grandchildren.

Imo State Government has given traders at the old Owerri Timber Market (Ogba Osisi) Wetheral Road, four-week ultimatum to leave the place.

The General Manager of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), Mr. Francis Chukwu, gave the warning yesterday in Owerri during a routine inspection with his team.

Chukwu, an engineer, said that the government had created a permanent site for the traders at Naze Timber Market in Owerri North Local Government and urged them to relocate.

He said their stay at the old Owerri Timber Market “is disrupting the master plan of the capital city.”

The general manager appealed to them to adhere to the order, as failure to move in the next one month would result in losing their goods.

The OCDA boss said: “It is imperative for the government to do the needful to sanitise the state and avert danger.”

Indigenous contractors of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission (DESOPADEC) have suspended a planned protest at the agency’s corporate office in Warri, over non-payment of money owed them for executed jobs.

The suspension followed the intervention by the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Michael Diden, on Sunday.It was gathered that the DESOPADEC contractors, under the auspices of DESOPADEC Indigenous Contractors and Stakeholders Forum (DICSF), had concluded plans to begin protest yesterday at the commission’s offices, with a view to grounding operations of the interventionist agency.But Diden, who became aware of the impending protest, engaged the contractors at a meeting in Sapele, Sapele Local Government, promising to table their demands before Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Read Also: Residents protest poor state of road

Diden said that the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the operations of DESOPADEC, adding that the commission was expecting its worst monthly allocation so far, for this month as a result of a sharp decline in the 13 per cent derivation shared by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

He promised to set up a tripartite meeting between the aggrieved contractors, the Managing Director of DESOPADEC, Bashorun Askia Ogieh and himself, not later than December 3, to possibly find a way forward as regards the demands. DICSF Chairman Mr. Fidelis Ete Orugboh, who led the contractors, demanded the payments of outstanding money due to them, with verified payments’ certificate and inclusion in DESOPADEC monthly/routine payments, in line with the existing payments structure in the commission.

He called for review/revalidation of ongoing/old projects/contracts, as well as award of approved projects in previous budgets, particularly that of 2015.

Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu West have proposed an equal sharing formula for the Executive Committee (exco) positions between the two factions, to resolve the crisis rocking the state chapter ahead of the 2023 general election.

A group, which endorsed the factional Chairman, Adolphus Udeh, as the authentic chairman, said they have adopted King Solomon’s model of reconciliation to share the party’s state exco positions, 17 local government excos and 260 ward excos, on 50-50 basis, to stand a good chance to win the general election in the state in 2023.

Udeh and Chief Ugochukwu Agballah emerged as factional chairmen of the party after the controversial state congress held on October 16.

While Udeh was declared winner of the congress conducted at the state secretariat by a faction, which describes itself as the mainstream led by the former chairman of the party, Ben Nwoye, Baywood Ibe, Osita Okechukwu and others; Agballah was elected by a faction loyal to ex-Senate president Ken Nnamani; Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama and former governor Sullivan Chime.

In a statement in Enugu by Ibe, the mainstream group said that not only was the process, which produced Agballah invalid; but that he also violated the party’s zoning principles.

Read Also: Gombe: APC’s gathering storm

The body said: “The zoning principle calls for rotation between the old Udi LGA and old Awgu LGA, Udi, having produced the highest party office zoned to Enugu in the last dispensation when Chief Emma Eneukwu occupied the eminent position of national vice chairman. Equity demands that it is the turn of old Awgu, where Ude hails from.”

It added: “Most importantly, our dear brother, Agballa, is not qualified to lead 180,000 foundation members of our great party.

“We as foundation legacy members adopt King Solomon’s model of reconciliation with Udeh as the authentic chairman – share the state exco, 17 LGA excos and 260 Ward excos on 50-50 basis, so as to stand a good chance to win Lion Building in 2023.”

Reacting to the proposal, Agballah, who spoke through his media adviser, Kenneth Ofoma, described the group as jokers and political mercantilists, who were only interested in trading off the party.

He urged any aggrieved member, who had the interest of the party at heart, to approach the Congress Appeal Committee or the National Reconciliation Committee headed by Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, for redress and reconciliation.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday inaugurated the ultra-modern Delta State Secretariat Complex and 8.5 megawatts Independent Power Project (IPP) in Asaba.

He paid glowing tributes to the Asaba monarch, Prof. Chike Edozien, after who the secretariat is named and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for providing funds despite dwindling revenue and severe resource constraints across all levels of the government.

Osinbajo said with the secretariat, the citizens are not only being presented with a functional and a befitting edifice, but they are also immortalising the name of Prof. Edozien.

He said: “The civil service and the people of Delta are today being presented with the state of the art functional and befitting secretariat complex. The state is at the same time immortalising the name of Delta’s and indeed, Nigeria’s most illustrious son, Prof. Chike Edozien, Nigeria’s oldest living professor in any discipline and an internationally renowned professor of medicine.”

The vice-president praised the monarch for being an outstanding bridge builder and a symbol of unity, noting that during his 30 years on the throne, Asaba had developed, attracting people from far and wide.

He said naming the secretariat after the revered monarch is a message to the younger generation that “integrity, diligence and service to community and country pay.”

Read Also: Minister inaugurates seed processing machine in Kaduna

Osinbajo said Okowa’s recognition of the critical role of the public sector is notable, adding that the civil service is the very “tip of the spear of government”.

The governor had said that with the completion of the secretariat, the 27 ministries would be brought under one roof, saving the government millions of Naira paid as rent annually.

He said his administration faced frustrating and challenging times during the building of the secretariat such as a parlous economy, which was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Okowa said with all the ministries under one roof, there would be enhanced coordination and synergy, leading to higher moral and better time management, efficiency and greater productivity among civil servants.

Dignitaries at the event were Edo State Deputy Governor Phillip Shuaibu, Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri, Sen.  James Manager, House of Representatives Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu, Delta House of Assembly Speaker Sherrif Oborevwori and Delta Chief Judge Theresa Diai.