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Tag: Urhobo

  • ‘Why Urhobo should return Omo-Agege to the Senate’

    Comrade Chuks Erhire doubles as the treasurer of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Delta State as well as the Director General of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege Constituency Office. In this interview with our Correspondent, FAITH YAHAYA, he alleges that that there is a gang-up against the Urhobo nation by some major players to emasculate the political prowess of scions of Urhobo in the state. He also highlights reasons why the Urhobo people should return Omo-Agege to the Red Chamber. He added that a vote for the APC governorship candidate in the state, Great Ogboru, is the best option for the economic emancipation of the people. Excerpts:

    Why do you think Senator Ovie Omo-Agege deserves to return to the Senate in 2019?

    It is evidently clear. When you are an incumbent and you are aspiring for re-election, the people have the opportunity of using your performance and antecedents in office as a basis for their decision. We are confident because we know that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has done very well in the three key areas of legislative representation. He has given voice to the Urhobo people; he has done very well in terms of representation. In the Senate, you cannot talk about senators without mentioning the name of Senator Omo-Agege. He has contributed very quality motions that are vital to the survival and development of Nigeria. He has embraced very key and fundamental reforms that have brought stability to our polity. The senator played a key role in the Electoral Law that is being reviewed. He co-sponsored that bill and by the time all those bills are assented to, of course, our elections will become free, fair and credible. You will recall that he also co-sponsored a bill on Electoral Offenders Commission. It is not enough for someone who is declared by the court as an electoral thief to lose the seat, hand over the mandate and walk away. For example, if a man goes stealing a goat and he is caught, of course, the owner of the goat will recover it but prosecution will follow. That is what Omo-Agege is pursuing at the Senate at the moment. He seeks to ensure that those people who are found out to be electoral thieves should not only lose their seats but should be made to face the consequences of the electoral theft.

    In specific terms, what impact has he made on the lives of the people in his constituency?

    If you look at the quality of projects he has initiated and brought to the Urhobo nation, you can’t help but commend his efforts and selflessness in putting the people first. There is no local government area in the whole of Delta Central where you do not have a project provided by Omo-Agege through his constituency projects or through his capacity to lobby key agencies and parastatals. For this and several other reasons, I think the Urhobo nation is very comfortable with what he is doing right now and they will not be ready to lose their best and free the space for charlatans to take over the seat.

    Would you say his performance is in any way better than that of his predecessors?

    The facts speak for themselves. I think I will leave that for the Urhobo people to judge but everywhere we go, you hear people say it. On the social media and the mainstream media, even people in the opposition parties also acknowledge the fact that Omo-Agege is first among equals for his quality representation of the Urhobo people. Listen, we give it to our brother, late Senator Pius Ewherido; he started excellently well but unfortunately, the cold hand of death snatched him away from us. If you take Senator Pius Ewherido aside, there is nobody you can compare with Omo-Agege as far as this political dispensation is concerned. He has done perfectly well; he has taken Urhobo nation into national political limelight. Beginning from 2019 when Buhari is re-elected, you will see what will become of the Urhobo nation in the national political space.

    It is not enough to praise him for his closeness to The Presidency, If all politics are local, then you must tell us how he has lifted the Urhobo nation. Do you have indices of the macro-economic impact his representation has had on the average Urhobo man?

    Of course, yes! You will recall that all through 2016 and 2017, Omo-Agege went across the length and breadth of Urhoboland, especially the markets across the Delta Central Senatorial district to do direct cash transfers to the very distressed traders. We were at the Effurun Market, Ekpan Market, Ugborikoko Market all in Uvwie local government area. In Ethiope East, we went to Eku Market, Kokori Market, Abraka Market. In Ughelli North we went to Orogun Market, in fact the markets in all the villages of Orogun.  We were at Ughelli Main Market and Agbarho Market. We were at Otokutu, we were at Ewu Market, and we had to go to Okpare Market and Okwagbe Market all in Ughelli South. In Ethiope West, we were at Oghara, Jesse, Mosogar. In Sapele e were at Amukpe Market and Sapele Main Market. There was no local government we did not go to. In Udu, we were at Ujugbale, Ubogo. In Okpe, we went to Orerokpe Market, Adeje Market. That N20,000 that Senator Omo-Agege was giving to mothers, sisters and our brothers who were traders in those markets, of course, had a great impact and the feedback we have received so far is mind-blowing. Imagine someone whose entire stock or ware is N5,000 and then, he or she suddenly gets N20,000. You have almost  changed the person’s life automatically. A woman that sells iced fish that cannot afford a carton of iced fish and was pairing with someone to sell and then you give her money that can buy almost two cartons; the impact of the exercise is great. If you go round the markets and interview the beneficiaries, you will be amazed at their responses and joy. I am thinking that we will do a small media get-together with a few of those persons who were given that token cash transfer at the various markets and you will be amazed at the feedback you will get. All of these things have helped to lift our people from hunger and poverty.

    So, what would you say inspires the senator to do all these things?

    Naturally, preparation is the key. You know, proper preparation precedes proper performance. Number two is capacity; the legislature is not a place for charlatans, you need some level of intellectual capacity to be able to properly engage in legislative business and besides, Omo-Agege is a man that has passion to serve. When you are driven by passion and  a sense of purpose, knowing that your people are backward, your people are the fifth largest ethnic nationality that has been consigned to the backyard in national political scene, you will go there with a sense of mission and purpose to say, this is what we need to do to bring back the Urhobo nation to where it ought to be in the national political space. So, he did not go there knowing not what to do and because he was driven by passion and he has the mental and intellectual capacity to pursue the legislative business, he went there straight away and began to engage. You will recall that eight months of his mandate were stolen by the political buccaneers in Delta State and by the grace of God through the court, he was able to recover the mandate. Thereafter, they also went back to work with the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, to deny him the opportunity of being sworn in as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, two months even after the court had declared him as a senator. But as soon as he got there, he hit the ground running. Another thing I want to say is that Omo-Agege is privileged to have a very wonderful team. We are proud of the team that he assembled, the best hands that you can find in Urhoboland are today working together with him to ensure that the cries of Urhobo man are crystallized into ideas, motions and bills and all of that to take us out of the woods.

    No doubt, the election in the senatorial district will be tough with the calibre of candidates from the other parties, like Hon. Evelyn Oboro of the Peoples Democratic Party and Ovie Ugwanogho of the Social Democratic Party. Can Omo-Agege weather the storm?

    First, you have to understand that people go into business with different goals. In elections there are people whose goal is just to have their names on the ballot paper such that when you visit the Independent National Electoral Commission’s website, you will find their names there as  one-time candidates of political parties.

    What message do you have for the people of Urhoboland?

    To the Urhobo people, I need to let them know that there is a gang up against us. There is a conspiracy by a cabal in Delta State to destroy the political power of the Urhobo nation and they are doing it through economic strangulation. This was hatched some time in 2005 in Government House, Asaba, and since then, they have been consistently and dutifully executing this agenda to weaken the Urhobo nation politically. They are deceiving us, assuming Okowa wins, that in 2023 they will give power to Urhobo and I tell you it is the biggest lie. They have planned to hand over power to Ijaw in 2023. How do they want to achieve that? Recall that in 2007 when Ibori and his people had said that the power would go to Delta South that we had aspirants from Delta North, Delta South and Delta Central  Uduaghan was there, Senator Omo-Agege was there, Pius Ewherido was there, Ejaife Odebala was there, several Urhobo people aspired and Okowa was there too; Otega Emerhor, all of them from the three senatorial districts. Now in 2023, what do they want to do? They have strangulated all of them and that is part of the gang up to ensure that in 2023, no Urhobo person is able to rear his head to aspire for the PDP governorship ticket. So, they have their plans. What I need to tell the Urhobo people is the time is now for us to redeem ourselves. The time is now for us to come together to work and make Ogboru our governor in 2019. That their vote for APC in 2019 is a vote for the liberty of Urhobo nation, a vote for APC in 2019 will be a vote for the destruction of that evil plan against the entire Urhobo nation. I challenge them to tell me that this is not true and I will ask them if David Edevbie, who is currently the Commissioner for Finance, is being allowed to do his job as Commissioner for Finance. Ask David Edevbie if he can raise N100 million  for any election now. So, for the Urhobo people, please Senator Omo-Agege means well for you, he is here as your messenger and he is doing the job well. Urhobo people say, Omororioro oya she oro ke, meaning you sell gold to those who know its value. Omo-Agege knows the value of the mandate that has been given to him and that is why he is working day and night to ensure that he doesn’t disappoint the people. He will do more if he is given the chance in 2019.

  • Okowa advises politicians against politics of bitterness

    Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has advised politicians to shun actions that could jeopardize peace in the 2019 general elections.

    The governor gave the advice on Friday during the 87th Annual National Congress and Award of Honours of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta.

    Okowa urged candidates to shun politics of bitterness and focus on people-oriented programmes to woo the electorate.

    The governor said everyone should work toward free, fair and credible elections.

    Read Also: Okowa inaugurates 10 vehicles for campaign

    He attributed the success recorded by his administration to the peaceful co-existence of different ethnic groups in the State.

    “The peace and unity that exists among the different ethnic nationalities in the state has contributed greatly to the success story of my administration.

    “If there is division in any of the ethnic nationalities, there will be problem; and as long as each of the ethnic nationalities are at peace with themselves, it will be easy for government to manage its affairs,” he said.

    Okowa urged the various ethnic nationalities in the state to continue to live in peace.

    He said that he believed Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC) would listen to the collective voice of different ethnic nationalities and relocate to Warri, which would boost the economy of the state.

    “There is no doubt that the UPU is a very strong union; it is an embodiment of strength of the Urhobo people.

    “I thank the leadership for keeping faith with the ideals of the founding fathers of the UPU;  I must appreciate the traditional rulers who have come together to ensure that there is no division in the union,” he said.

    Also, former governor. James Ibori, commended the President-General of UPU, Mr Moses Taiga, and the traditional rulers for working for the  unity of Urhoboland.

    “The people should consider the overall interest of the Urhobo nation at all times.

    “As we continue to ask our governor to do more for us, we must keep the peace, which is necessary for development to take place,” he said.

    In his remark, Taiga commended Gov. Okowa for his developmental strides, especially in Urhoboland.

    He said that UPU would join forces with other ethnic nationalities to push for Shell’s returns to Warri.

     

    NAN

  • Ekiti orders arrest of Herdsmen carrying weapons

    …Vows not to tolerate destruction of farm lands

    The Ekiti State government has ordered the arrest and prosecution of any herdsman caught with guns and other dangerous weapons, promising to visit the full weight of the law on suspects.

    The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, disclosed this on Thursday at a peace meeting held with representatives of herders and farmers at the Government House in Ado-Ekiti in the wake of alleged attacks on farmers in some communities by suspected herdsmen.

    Read Also:‘We bought N50,000 gun to protect ourselves from herdsmen’

    The meeting was attended by representatives of Fulani, Hausa, Ebira, Urhobo, Yoruba communities, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders and Ekiti Grazing and Enforcement Marshals (EGEM).

    Egbeyemi warned that it was unacceptable to the state government for herdsmen to be carrying AK-47 rifles and other dangerous weapons stressing that security agencies have been mobilized to arrest anyone
    of them caught with weapons.

    The deputy governor particularly warned the Sarkin Fulani in Ekiti State, Muhammad Abashe, that he would be held responsible should there be any further attacks on farmers on their farm lands.

    Egbeyemi said the state government would not tolerate a repeat of attack on Orin Farm Settlement in Ido/Osi Local Government Area last year in which a pregnant Tiv farmer was killed.

    He said: “We have given a marching order to security agencies to arrest herdsmen carrying weapons. As from now, the full wrath of the law will be visited on any herdsman caught with dangerous weapons.

    “Herdsmen going about with AK-47 rifles, what are they doing with such? Will they use AK-47 rifles on animals or human being? Tell your people that will not be tolerated in Ekiti land.

    “We are all Nigerians but somebody cannot come from his place of origin and destroy other people’s property and farm lands. We won’t tolerate that in Ekiti, go and tell your people back home.

    “We don’t want war in Ekiti State; we want peace in our land. I have listened to all parties but the most important thing for our government is peace so that everybody can prosper his legitimate business.”

    According to him, government was duty bound to protect law-abiding residents including settlers in the state who are engaged in legitimate businesses and would not allow killing of innocent people.

    He stressed that herdsmen are not allowed to graze their cattle on farm lands noting that such had led to massive loss of gains and affecting yield of farmers.

    Egbeyemi emphasized that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in Ekiti State would not cede any of its land to violent herdsmen as being insinuated by the opposition.

    The deputy governor, however, advised farmers not to take the law into their hands by killing cows of herdsmen urging them to report any attack or destruction of their farms to the appropriate authorities.

    Egbeyemi also warned herdsmen to steer clear of government reserves which he said are not meant for grazing noting that security would be beefed up there to arrest encroachers.

    The deputy governor further revealed that EGEM officers would be empowered with more vehicles, communication facilities and other logistics to boost their morale and prevent clashes between farmers
    and herders.

    Community leaders who spoke included Head of Ebira Community, Sadiku Ojo; Leader of Fulani-Ilorin Community in Ikere, Alhaji Sulaiman Ibrahim,  President of Urhobo Community, Mr. John Enaibe and a local farmer, Mr. Abiodun Kayode.

    Others were Princess Adenike Flourish, Secretary of Anti-Grazing Monitoring Committee; an EGEM officer, Mr. Aladelokun Ayodeji; a representative of Olojudo’s Palace in Ido-Ekiti, Mr. Adewumi Daramola and Mr. Gabriel Monday, a representative of Forest Guards.

  • Protesters block Delta govt. house gates over hijack of jobs

    Regular official activities at the Delta state Government House in Asaba were held to a standstill for close to one hour on Thursday when protesting youths and ex-agitators blocked the only access in protest of an alleged hijack of their surveillance jobs.
    The protesters, under the aegis of OML 30 communities youths and ex-agitators from the first to the third phase of the federal government’s amnesty programme, who stormed the governor’s office in tens of buses from various Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri communities, accused business tycoon, Captain Hosa Okunbo and his company, Ocean Marine, of scheming to hijack the the surveillance contract of OML 30 facilities and render thousands of them jobless.
    However, the state government, represented by the Attorney-General of the state and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Peter Mrakpor, affirmed to the angry protesters that the agreement with the operator of the facilities was that the communities handle the surveillance and security of the facilities, adding that the government would not let that agreement fail.
    Expressing the displeasure of the protesters to the state government, from a position paper which was later handed over to the Attorney-General, spokesman of the youths and ex-agitators, Mr Lord Tennyson, said thousands of youths of the state were about to lose their jobs to the alleged hijack, noting also that if not prevented, the security situation in their areas might be adversely affected.
    He also charged the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, to investigate the process attending to the alleged hijack, alleging also that the the contract value had been inflated more than five times the actual price, saying , “we have learnt from very reliable sources that the intent of Captain Okunbo, his company; Ocean Marine and his presidency backers is to use the surveillance job as a mere front to siphon millions of dollars for the purposes of executing the 2019 elections in Delta state and rig their party, the APC to power in the state.

    Read Also: A boost for construction in Niger Delta coastal communities

    “To achieve this, we gathered that the corrupt gang in the presidency has corruptly and unilaterally awarded the surveillance contract to Ocean Marine at a rate almost five to six times of the contract award rate of the previous contractor company.
    “Your Excellency, we feel that this is the point at which you, as the Chief Security Officer of our dear state, must rise up to take steps to nip this madness in the bud to avert the impending danger that this greedy set of ‘soldiers of fortune’ is about to impose on not just our communities, but also our dear state.
    “You may wonder how this is our concern. It has become our concern because we have sat down to imagine what the picture will look like when Ocean Marine successfully takes our jobs away from us, using either traditional rulers or president-generals of communities as fronts, how many youths with bustling capacities and abilities will be rendered jobless. We imagine what other uses can hitherto busy, but now idle youths can engage their abilities and capabilities in.
    “We are imagining the level of confrontations and conflicts we might start to have to witness and how much work the security agencies might have to be dealing with by the time these thousands of jobless, able-bodied youths start engaging those they will inevitably blame for their new unpleasant status and how much more chaos the state government might have to be grappling with, having to add the problem of restive youths from an area that had hitherto maintained its peaceful calm all along. Your Excellency, we hope you know these might eventually be the least of the problems you may expect to come out of the 111 communities under OML 30”, he said.
    Responding to the presentation of the protesters, the Attorney-General, Mr Mrakpor, recalled that the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) between the operators of the OML 30 facilities, Heritage Energy Oil Services Limited (HEOSL) and the communities had just been recently, after a whole year of processing, noting that the agreement was that surveillance of facilities will be the job of Deltans and had rejected any involvement of non-Delta personnel or companies.
    He, however assured that he would take the matter to the governor the moment he returns to Asaba, adding “I can assure you that you will not be disappointed”.

  • ‘Urhobo is marginalised’

    Chief Joe Omene is the President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU). In this interview with Correspondent Polycarp Orosevwotu, he speaks on the position of the ethnic group on next year’s general elections.

    President Muhammadu Buhari visited you at your country home Mosogar, before the 2015 elections, and later you visited former President Goodluck Jonathan. What was the visit to these two candidates then all about?

    UPU is about the welfare and benefits of the Urhobo nation and you cannot separate politics from it. Apart from it being a socio-cultural organization, it is also concerned about how the Urhobo can benefit from the larger state called Nigeria. And to achieve this feat, we must be involve in electioneering issues from the state to the national to know what is our gains in it, and only there you can advise your people to vote for a particular presidential or governorship candidates.

    When I met former President Goodluck Jonathan, I discussed with him and he did assured us, and said he made a mistake in his first tenure by not giving Urhobo its fair share and promised it will be corrected if he wins but unfortunately, he could not make it. Buhari also came to my house, and it was the same question I asked him. Jonathan at that time was more explicit about his commitments, he was more forthcoming, while Buhari at that time was not and that was why we the Urhobos supported Jonathan but this time, the incumbent president still needs to come and convince us that he means well for the Urhobo nation.

    President Buhari has gone to West, East and other parts of the country but he has not come to see Urhobo to give us any form of assurance. Today, we have no minister from his government, and in fact, if you talk of empowerment, we have not gotten any form from his government being the fourth or fifth largest ethnic nationality; we deserve to have at least a ministerial position. This ministerial position we don’t have, how many Chief Executive positions in government parastatal do we have; we don’t have a fair share in this government as it stands today.

    Are you saying Urhobo is being marginalised under present government?

    Sure. We are seriously marginalized; if you like make somebody a board member. How many federal boards members do we have, when we have a lots of federal boards in this country, how many chairmen of federal boards does Urhobo occupies, even the appointment given to Chief Frank Ovie Kokori has not been inaugurated, somebody in this government is yet to convince us as a people that Urhobo is not being marginalized.

    In 2019 elections Urhobo will take decisions on which presidential and governorship candidates they will support. What is the criteria you are looking at?

    Many things have gone wrong before now, though, Jonathan tried to correct it before he left. We have no Minister at Jonathan time, but towards the end of his tenure, he gave us a ministerial position. What is wrong if Buhari appoints Urhobo as minister or chairmen of boards, but as it is now, nothing. So, how can he convince us that we are part of his government? These are some of the things Buhari must address. There should be assurance that when the new government comes, we will have it or he can make some appointments to show commitment by making so many Urhobos Boards members, then we know the change has come to affect us as a nation or ethnic nationality.

    What will now be the position of UPU, if these demands are not met?

    I can’t speak on it now on until then, but if at the end of the day the requests are not met by those in government and the other not in government assure us what he will do for Urhobo, we will take our decision. The important thing is that if you are not doing it now, but will do it, let us know so that after voting, we will know that these are our benefits. For example, apart from the North, Igbos and Yorubas, no other ethnic nations have higher population to Urhobos, yet the people are being marginalized. As we know, government is about people, so if other tribes that their population not up to Uhobo could be given minister, so what is our crime or they have more qualified people than us

    In the 2015 governorship election, UPU restricted its supports to only Urhobo candidate. Is it going to follow same in 2019?

    No, it is going to be thrown open. You see, we have Urhobos in PDP, APC, Labour party and this time, it is not about Urhobo but any candidates that can meet the yearning of Urhobo nation. It is not about SSAs, and SAs without having the interest of Urhobo as a nation. Appointing commissioners without giving them powers to function does not mean you have the interest of the people.

    There are speculations that Omo-Agege and Ogboru had drawn a battle line. Don’t you think it will have effect on the chances of Urhobo producing the next governor?

    What is happening between them is personal interest and not for the general people, but when they were fighting for the structure of the party on who controls the structure of the party, they were together and very close. Now that it has reached the stage, they are at logger ahead, and who is causing this between them is an outsider. A situation where Itsekiri man who during his time did not see anything good in Urhobo, because he is closed to the party chairman, Oshiomole, maternally wants to impose his authority in APC and in doing this by causing division among Urhobos, advising one against the other.

    And this same man who has brought Urhobo nation to this sorry state and who is not Urhobo or when he was governor wouldn’t see anything good about the Urhobo nation, has become a new convert that he now wants to come in between these two persons that have been together since without quarrel. But UPU is going to invite both Chief Great Ogboru and Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and let them tell us the reasons why they cannot work together. Then if it is personal we will know and if it is in Urhobo interest we will also advise them.

    The Urhobo Cultural Centre has been abandoned for over time and no efforts to put it right. What is the union doing about it?

    Some people thought that they will be able to destroy UPU especially politicians, unfortunately they could not. They went ahead to bring Ijaw man thinking that the Ijaw man will be able to do that, as UPU President General. For you to get to that office you must follow the constitution and the guidelines of the union. The Ivie (Kings) are not the custodian of UPU, the union is autonomous. The national body and the branches are the one that dictate the affairs of the union as stated in the constitution. If you are my adviser, you cannot dictate for me.

    The man has told us in a book published about him that his father is an Ijaw man from Kiagbodo. The author said he is the man who gave him the biography and information and the said book has been in circulation, and up to this moment, he has not be able to come out personally that his father is not an Ijaw. What the government does is that they capitalize on the weakness of our Ivie (Kings), to the extent that they could be invited to all government functions without recourse to their status as traditional rulers. If not that they have caused it on their, can government move Olu of Warri to any function or seen at government functions.

    Is there any clause that the UPU President-General must resident within Urhobo?

    The truth is that those who live in the land are those that can govern his people. Like the Prime Minister of Britain, he cannot stay in Germany and say he is the Prime Minister of Britain. If you are the President of Nigeria, you cannot live in Ghana and still claim you are governing Nigeria from Ghana, same applies in the case of the UPU President General. You cannot be stay outside Urhobo as President General, impossible, if you are doing that, it means you are not a popular person, I don’t know either you imposed yourself or somebody imposed you on the people because if the people wholeheartedly choose you, you must be with the people and live with them.

  • Urhobo urges Fed Govt to revive Delta ports

    THE Urhobo Renaissance Movement (URM) has urged the Federal Government to revive the moribund ports in Warri, Sapele, Burutu, Koko, Forcados and Escravos in Delta State.

    In a statement yesterday titled: Decongestion or ‘Decentralisation: A Distress Call to the Federal Government of Nigeria From the Dying Seaports in Urhoboland,’ the group registered its discontent with the neglect Urhobo people have suffered since the country’s independence, especially in the area of seaports development.

    The statement jointly signed by its coordinator, Professor Hope Eghagha, Secretary, Lexzy Ochebejivwie and members- Professor Joseph Abugu, Mideno Bayagbon, Joshua Oweibo and Mrs. Linda Binitie-Cassidy, stressed the need to revive the ports and decentralise ports operations from Lagos State.

    “Considering the enormous internally generated income, which the ports are likely to rake in for both the government and people of Nigeria and Delta state, we are demanding that our seaports be given the kind of attention the seaports in Lagos are receiving,” it stated.

    The group decried the situation in which the Urhobo people of the Niger Delta find themselves, especially due to their law-abiding nature, adding: “To that extent, we must quickly reiterate that it is time we must stop asking for peace and start asking for justice.

    “The enormous economic potentials of seaports cannot not be better explained than through the ugly scenario of shipping and shipping-related activities in and around Apapa—occasioned by delays, unending and nightmarish gridlock to and from Apapa Port.

     

    “No other reason is responsible for this situation than for the singular fact that Lagos seaports—Apapa and Tin Can are the only active seaports in Nigeria—even though the country can boast of even bigger seaport elsewhere in Nigeria. For example, the Delta State seaports have been either abandoned or taken over by the Navy.”

    It lamented that the Nigerian Navy has annexed the Sapele seaport, which was once a beehive of economic activities, insisting that part of it is under-utilised without any consideration of the enormous strength and utilitarian value of the port to the people of the state and its neighbours.

    “This situation has not only brought untold hardship on the people who depended on the commercial activities of the port at its inception, but has also deepened the level of unemployment and restiveness in the region.

    “The only way we as a people are supposed interact with the Nigerian state is the equitable distribution of our commonwealth, through economics, politics, security and industrialisation of the federating unions,” it stated.

    Even the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has urged the Federal Government to develop other ports in the country to reduce the pressure of trailers in Lagos, stressing that a single-port nation stands on a very shaky ground, security-wise.

    The group, therefore, urged the Federal Government to develop the Sapele Port for commercial activities, while the Navy should be restricted to its part of the sea, so as to allow space for commercial activities for which the port was originally established.

    It also charged the government to dredge the Warri port and restore its full capacity, utilisation and commercialisation, while shipping activities should be decentralised so that federating unions with capacity for water transportation are provided with equal playing ground for development

     

    “The restoration of our seaports to its glorious days should be treated as a matter of utmost urgency,” the statement added.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Urhobo Progress Union to Buhari: restructure Nigeria

    The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) yesterday tabled a number of demands before President Muhamamdu Buhari, including the restructuring of the country.

    They also pleaded for a ministerial slot, boundary adjustment and the stoppage of the sale of their land by military officers.

    Buhari said the military officers selling the land donated to the military in Delta State would be dealt with.

    The UPU members and Urhobo members in the All Progressives Congress (APC) were led to the Presidential Villa by Dr. Laiyeguen, Ogbon-Ogoni Oghoro 1, the Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom.

    The president pleaded with the Urhobo nation to protect oil installations in their communities the way they protected it during the 16 years administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The calls for restructuring, he said, may not have caught his attention because of the parochial interest with which stakeholders were making the request.

    He said some of the views expressed by different interest groups for the restructuring were uncoordinated, stressing that such clamours may not be backed by the constitution.

    He also told the group that the request for Urhobo person to be in his cabinet may not be possible as the Constitution has specified that there will be one person from every state of the federation.

    The President said: “I have taken note of your representation that the land given to the military is being sold. You are not the first to make this representation, so  by this representation, I am constrained to tell the responsible ministry to check and find out, whoever is responsible in abusing the generosity extended to the military will be brought to book. I assure you of that.

    “Firstly, the corporate existence of the country is its resources. We need your cooperation like I said for the 16 years of previous administrations who enjoyed relative peace and a lot of resources, when we came the militants suddenly realize their powers and it affected our production from 2.1 million barrels.

    “But I think they have realised and have listened to you, they are prepared to give this administration a chance. I assure you that whatever this country realises through whichever resources whether agriculture or petroleum, we will use it to ensure we improve the standard of living of Nigerian.

    “I have noted your representation but like I said, please persuade the so called militants to please give peace a change and stop sabotaging installations because like I said if we pollute the waters it will affect more of your people including those who depend on fishing.  You don’t need money from Central Bank; what you need is secured coastlines that will enable the people earn decent living through fishing.

    “So the government and you as representatives of the people have equal duties persuading those under our influence to please restrain themselves and make a lot of sacrifice for the sake of the whole country.”

    He went on: “You mentioned something which is topical these days, the cause of restructuring Nigeria. For every group asking for restructuring has got their own agenda and I hope it can be accommodated by the constitution. I assure you that you are not forgotten and I’m pleased you appreciate the appointments by this administration of some citizens of your kingdoms.

    “Boundary adjustments you asked for is a constitutional problem as well as the ministerial slot you asked for. If you look at the result of the election that brought this administration in, you will see that this administration has a lot of restraint in the sense that the constitution made a provision that there would be a representation in the executive council of each state. It is not possible to make each tribal group because I suspect they are around 250. 250 ministers will be too cumbersome to handle, so it is limited to the constitution. So, the only thing we can do is to pick one person per state and that is one thing we have to accept.”

    The Urhobo nation, in their address read by the President General of UPU, Olorogun Moses Taiga, said:

    “Grinding poverty is still a fact of life in nearly all our communities. Our youths are unemployed and frustrated but we rein them in regardless in the hope that tomorrow might be a better day.

    “Hunger, despair and disease stalk our lands and our waterways which have been devastated and poisoned by years of oil exploration conducted quite obviously outside global best practices.

    “But we keep the peace because we believe tomorrow will be a better day. In the past few years, our children have started asking us when tomorrow will come.”

    He said the Sapele Port, which was once a bustling economic hub in the old Midwestern region, has become camotose.

    “It is presently used as a naval facility with only a small part of it serving the navy’s needs. We therefore request the Federal Government to reactivate and make the port functional. This will help to decongest the Lagos ports and boost the economy of Delta and neighboring states,” he said

    On boundary crisis between Delta and Edo states, the Urhobo nation sought for the intervention of the President in resolving the issue as it relates to boundary adjustment.

    The UPU appealed to the president to adequately fund the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurum, Delta as a special institution.

    “We note that the Delta Steel Company, Aladja has been privatised. However, it is regrettable that the new owners have failed to revitalise it.”

    Speaking with State House correspondents after the visit on whether the demands were pre-conditions for the Urhobo nation to vote for Buhari in 2019, Taiga said : “Well, they are not pre-condition, they are requests. We are making requests that these are the needs of the Urhobo nation. So, once anybody willing to do those things as we said in our speech, we are partners in progress and we will work with him to ensure continuity of the nation.”

  • Investigate June 12 polls’ annulment, Urhobo leaders tell President

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to investigate the annulment of June 12 presidential election.

    The Urhobo Leaders of Thoughts made the call yesterday in a statement in Warri by its secretary, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha.

    The statement lauded the President for having the foresight to honour and award late Chief M.K.O Abiola; his running mate , Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and a human right activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

    Describing the May 29 Democracy Day being celebrated as a hypocrisy on the part of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the group  stated that the recent declaration by the presidency allows for “genuine and a sustainable democracy”.

    Noting that the key players of the botched and historic 1993 polls will now rest in peace, it added that reversing democracy day to June 12 goes further to show how democratic the President is.

    “We commend the President for the honour and the award, as nothing can be more historical than this. It is a triumphant of good over evil. With this declaration, Nigerians can now breathe the air of genuine and a sustainable democracy. Our struggle was no longer in vain.”

  • Urhobo union to Senate: lift ban on Omo-Agege

    The President General of Urhobo Progress Union Worldwide, Olorogun Moses Taiga, has urged the Senate to lift the suspension on the senator representing Delta Central, Ovie Omo-Agege.

    Taiga, in a statement, said Urhobo, the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria, could not be without representation in the Senate for such a long and critical time.

    “Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is the only senator representing the entire Urhobo Nation. For him to be absent at this critical time is unacceptable to the Urhobos. Elections are almost here, we are discussing the way forward for Nigeria and there are many other critical issues, including the invasion of Urhoboland by Fulani herdsmen.

    ‘’We need Senator Omo-Agege in the Senate to protect and defend the Urhobo interest we sent him there to do. All the UPU is asking for is the reinstatement of Ovie Omo-Agege and the UPU is ready to work with the Senate to ensure his prompt recall,” Olorogun Taiga added.

    Taiga said the Urhobo would be the greatest loser in the suspension and urged Urhobo, irrespective of political affiliation to work towards lifting the suspension.

    The Senate suspended Omo-Agege for 90 legislative days last week.

  • Omo-Agege: Urhobo, Delta APC fault Senate

    The Urhobo nation and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State have described Thursday’s suspension of the Senator representing Delta Central District as political intimidation and an attempt to rob them of their voice at the centre.

    Stating this consensus at a gathering of Urhobo people and supporters of the APC in Ughelli, the headquarters of Ughelli North council area of Delta, the chairman of the APC in Delta Central, Olorogun Adelabu Bodjor, also said that the Urhobo people would stand with their senator all the way.

    The Senate had on Thursday suspended Senator Omo-Agege for his opposition to the elections reordering move of some of his colleagues and being part of the Parliamentary Support Group (PSG), a group known to be in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s interest.

    But in reaction to the Senate’s decision, Bodjor said that the Urhobo people had strongly condemned the suspension of the Senator, adding that it will not in any way deter or dampen his resolve to provide quality representation to his people and promote the interest of the nation in the National Assembly.

    He said: “The incidence that took place in the National Assembly and the suspension of the Distinguished Senator representing the Urhobo people in the National Assembly, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has again called to question the affairs of the Nigerian Senate. Our Distinguished Senator has been providing quality representation to the people of Delta Central and we are proud of him.

    “By suspending him, if the Senate leadership thinks that it will deter him, then they are wrong.  The Urhobo nation is solidly behind him, we believe in him and we will give him all our support at any time and any day in this whole process.  We therefore pass a vote of confidence on the distinguished Senator, Senator Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege.  We still believe that he will bounce back better and stronger than his distractors in the National Assembly.

    “But we want to say here and very emphatically, that Urhobo nation would never tolerate any act of political intimidation and threat to our Senator whom we overwhelmingly voted for to represent us in the National Assembly.  The primary responsibility of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in the National Assembly is to provide quality representation to the people of Delta Central and attract the dividends of democracy to the Urhobo people and that he has been doing excellently well since we cast our votes for him to the Senate.”

    Bodjor also took a swipe at the APC Senators in the National Assembly, adding that “it is a shame that the party has the leadership of the National Assembly but it has decided to stand the morals of good leadership on its head and has also decided to take the party that brought them to power on a roller-coaster.

    “We call on the national leadership of the party to call the members of the party at the National Assembly to order before they take the party down the cliff hanger.  The national lawmakers got the mandate of the people of Nigeria to make enduring laws that will better the lot of Nigerians and the future generation of our children in general.  They were not voted for go and feather their own nests and engage in selfish activities to the detriment of good governance for the entire Nigerian people”

    Highpoint of the occasion was the passing of overwhelming vote of confidence on Omo-Agege by the Urhobo people.