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PRESS STATEMENT

22nd June, 2021

Nwaoboshi: The egocentric shenanigan of an ingrate

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State is taken aback with tongues wagging across Anioma land, nay Delta State over what may have come upon one of its own, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, who Governor Ifeanyi Okowa painstakingly campaigned for to emerge victorious at the polls as a two-term Senator representing Delta North during the PDP campaigns for party candidates.

The Senator, at a function, was heard castigating and casting aspersions on the more than excellent performance of the award-winning accomplishments of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who has brought honour, dignity to Deltans, Southern Nigeria, and Nigeria in general for his assiduous and brilliant acts of statesmanship in providing a SMART Agenda and Stronger Delta, as well as a diligent work with other Nigerians, cutting across party lines to bring about a stable Nigerian polity of peace, equity, justice, and fair play.

A statement from the State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza said Delta PDP would have ignored the fit of childish display of bad temper from one thought to be an elder to be full of rage, an outburst that has been described elsewhere as the shenanigan of an ingrate, but the party thought it necessary to put the record straight in the interest of those who may have been misled by the messing about and mischief intended by the irreverence from one once held as worthy of respect.

It has become necessary to encourage PDP members, faithful, and supporters not to be taken in by the obviously demonic engagements of Nwaoboshi, but should ignore his parade of rage and bad manners and see it for what it is, an egocentric desperation to put a wedge in the spirit of camaraderie that exists in the Party and among its leadership by comparing the outstanding works and efforts put in by successive PDP governors at different times.

It is a known fact that Delta, being a PDP State has continued to produce governors from the inception of Nigeria’s third democratic process since 1999. And beginning with our beloved then Governor, His Excellency, Chief James Onanefe Ibori whose great work turned Delta from a glorified local government council to what a State should be with massive infrastructure development across the State with roads that opened up erstwhile communities closed in for lack of roads; courageously taking dangerous risks that eventually paid off with the return of peace and security to the internecine war turn areas of Warri and environs; engaged in massive human capital development of building and renovation of dilapidated school buildings and establishing an all-time legacy of opening three polytechnics at a go, several colleges of Education, all towards ensuring that Deltans do not lack opportunities for tertiary education. Today, the impact of the former governor Ibori initiative is speaking well for the PDP as a party. Do we need to call attention to the opening up of the riverine areas with bridges that linked the closed communities, and opening them up for profitable economic life? Of course, it is a known fact that Chief Ibori has a political family in Delta, where issues are treated with fairness, equity, and justice. Today, Ibori is known as the father of Resource Control because of his agitations for equity, justice, and fair play in the allocation of national resources to resource-producing areas.

Another former governor from the PDP family, His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan also was in the saddle after Chief James Ibori, and the archives are awash with the exceptional development strides through his three-point agenda that took Delta from where Chief Ibori’s administration stopped to another high pedestal. Space will not permit a rehash of all that former governor Uduaghan did to uplift and enhance life and living in Delta. His exploits are adequately documented with awards to show for them. Delta PDP has continued to enjoy the glory arising therefrom.

Fortunately, for the party, another governor in the person of His Excellency, Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa is currently in the saddle, and in his second term, starting from where Dr. Uduaghan stopped and receiving loud ovations for the diligent, focused, and steady strides he is making in the area of human capital development started by Chief Ibori and continued by Dr. Uduaghan. Now, Governor Okowa has taken that initiative to another positive and higher level through his well-articulated YAGEP, STEP, Production, and Processing Support Programme (PPSP) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) programme. This is besides the numerous skills acquisition programmes aimed at and assisting the teeming unemployed youths for sound economic life. Like his predecessors, Governor Okowa followed in his predecessors’ footsteps, taking road construction and rehabilitation to a higher level. Today, he is called the Road Master on account of the massive road development exploits he has achieved for Deltans across the State. Asaba today is linked with more and good road networks with drainage works including the Storm drainage work that has brought ease and succour to areas especially the Okpanam Road axis which was usually flooded during rainfall. The people have heaved sighs of relief. Today, Asaba wears an aesthetic and beautiful look that has made right-thinking observers and notable Asaba indigenes proud of the city as an emerging true State capital.

It is, therefore, a surprise that Nwaoboshi, who won his elections under that political goodwill enjoyed by Governor Okowa should turn around to engage in sophistry to ask “What has the Anioma governor done for Asaba?”

Delta PDP does not see any challenge in the exploits of its governorship candidates who had different challenges at their respective times of being in the saddle as governors. Chief Ibori handled the challenges during his time, just as Dr. Uduaghan did also during his time. It is Okowa today, attending the present-day challenge in the governance of Delta State. By 2023, when hopefully another PDP governor emerges, he or she will have to attend to the challenges on the ground when the time comes.

For us in the PDP, we see Nwaoboshi’s tirade against high-flying PDP’s Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as a sacrilege by the Anioma representative in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. As a party, we note that the Senator has kept sealed lips even when the Anioma and the whole of Delta faced the Fulani herders threats and challenges of insecurity. Not a word from him in support of the resolve of Southern Governors to ban open grazing or a work to give succour to Anioma and Deltans. No. Nwaoboshi denied PDP and the people of Anioma a people-oriented representation in projecting and conveying their position to the APC-led Federal Government. He was mute, looked the other way at a time his people needed his intervention.

The narrative speaks for itself; the senator’s rage and bad temper are not worthy of attention and respect.

PDP! Power to the people.

Dr. Ifeanyi M. Osuoza

State Publicity Secretary,

PDP, Delta State.