Eshanekpe Israel (a.k.a Akpodoro) is an Urhobo Delta State-born former militant and a staunch supporter of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. In this interview with reporters in Asaba, the state capital, Akpodoro who recently emerged as the Mayor of Urhobo land speaks on several national issues. AIWERIE OKUNGBOWA reports
You are a staunch supporter of the Buhari administration. Who, in your view, should he choose to continue his legacy?
I am fully in support of the man who has brought a change in our body polity in Lagos; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is a former governor of the state. A tested and trusted hand, Tinubu has paid his dues and he has the mental and psychological capacity, as well as the war chest and the statesmanship to lead the country when President Muhammadu Buhari bows out in May 2023. Mind you, my position has nothing to do with party politics but the wherewithal to develop Nigeria, Urhoboland inclusive. Mine is to mobilise support for the man who has made Lagos State the envy of the entire world. A pan Nigerian nationalist with the capacity to empower the youths equally in an egalitarian society Nigerian is my choice candidate for next year’s presidential election.
The Urhobo Progressives Union (UPU) is always factionalised. What are the efforts being made to unite Urhobos ahead of the next general elections?
As things stand in Urhoboland today, the Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege is the highest political office holder and the most respected leader in Urhobo nation and that confers on the power to unite the UPU. The union cannot remain divided forever; Omo-Agege should bring unity to bear among the existing factions and peace will return to the pan Urhobo socio-cultural group. I call on other leaders in Urhobo land to rally around Omo-Agege to bring peace to bear in our land. We cannot stay aloof while divisions persist in our national body perpetually and for the betterment of our people. We have suffered enough bickering and it is hampering our development. This is why the call for unity within our ranks has become imperative. Omo-Agege appears to have the Midas touch, so he is the only one with the capacity to bring peace to the union and I hope he heeds this call. He shouldn’t deal with any splinter group but he must bring all stakeholders to the table to make peace. Peace is sacrosanct in our land.
What is your assessment of President Buhari’s policy on the economy?
This government has tried its best to move Nigerians away from poverty, but President Buhari’s economic measures are too harsh. The incoming administration in 2023 should focus more on the youths alongside infrastructural development. This administration has done its best but it’s not good enough for us. What Nigerians need is a government that will spread wealth evenly among citizens, not the one that will make a fee people stupendously rich. The problems facing the economy are legion: Cost of production in the country has soared beyond reasonable limits, building materials are not affordable, insecurity remains a major issue in our body polity, the unemployment rate is astronomically high, education and health care are collapsing and there is hunger in the land. Therefore, towards 2023, Nigerians should look in the direction of the one who can address all these anomalies.
What’s your view about who becomes the next governor in Delta State?
The governorship would be zoned to Delta Central and it is imperative that an Urhobo man becomes the next governor. Imposition has always been a problem in Delta; people should be allowed to choose who leads them after Governor Ifeanyi Okowa leaves the scene. A generally accepted Urhobo man should take over from Dr Okowa, irrespective of his choice of a successor. Nobody can choose for Urhobo people because my people reserve the right to decide who they present for the governorship race and this is a general consensus among the Urhobos today.
Governor Okowa has reportedly anointed the speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly as his successor. What’s your comment on this?
Again, nobody will choose for us. In as much as all Urhobo sons and daughters are eminently qualified, we won’t pander to the games being played right now. Sheriff Oboriwhori is a good man but he is not our best. We need a man who sees the Urhobo nation as one and not a political weapon for anyone. We heard on good authority that the Okowa-led PDP government is playing games with Urhobo nation by cajoling us with Oborhiwhori as the governor’s candidate and that Okowa’s choice I actually an Ijaw man that’s to say, the political actors in the PDP want a repeat of Obuh’s gerrymandering but we shall do everything possible to ensure we are not shortchanged.
What is your assessment of Okowa’s performance in the past seven years?
Okowa, like Buhari, has done his best but his best is not good enough for us as a people. The state is worse than he met it. He should allow the electorates’ level playing field to elect their leaders who will lead us out of the woods.
What’s your take on the scarcity of petroleum products and electricity?
President Buhari, I understand, has apologised to Nigerians over the recent blackout experienced in some parts of the country but it is not enough. After the apology, where’s the light now? Diesel is expensive; there are deliberate efforts to sabotage the free-flow of petroleum products and everyone is feeling the negative impact on our major cities. In Abuja, for instance, a litre of premium motor spirit (PMS) goes for #300 and above, while diesel is sold for #800 and above per litre. Nigerians voted for change and not for hardship. So, the president should ensure that the energy sector is functional in service to the citizens. An oligarch was quoted as lamenting the hardship in the power sector but he owns Ughelli and Afam Power plants yet, there’s no record of electricity in Ughelli and its environs since the plant was conceded to him by the past administration in its dysfunctional privatisation drive.
What are the challenges facing the downstream sector of the oil industry?
The challenges facing the sector are that of dishonesty and lack of will to deliver services needed to end oil theft in the downstream oil industry. Agents of government are the major stumbling blocks impeding our progress. Security agents do not want to see anybody arrest oil thieves. They are the promoters of illegal oil bunkering, adulteration, stealing and vandalism of oil facilities. They aid and abet criminalities in the oil sector. They back marketers of illicit trade in the industry and this has been hampering our operations. The oil companies and operatives of the NNPC show a lackadaisical attitude towards ending criminalities in that sector because most stakeholders are hands-in-glove with oil thieves which is why they deny us support in the war against oil bunkering, products adulteration, vandalism of oil facilities. But, irrespective of these challenges, we have been making headway because we fight a just war. We make arrests in conjunction with few available honest ones in the police and army.