Oghara: A charismatic youthful politician and former aspirant into the Delta State House of Assembly, Ethiope West State Constituency Comrade Edafe Ofotokun, has congratulated former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, on his 65th birthday anniversary.

Ofotokun, in his Goodwill message maintained that Chief Ibori, is an iconic leader whose legacies in Delta State, will for ever remain indellible in the heart of the people.

Ofotokun, noted, that as governor, Chief Ibori built bridges of unity amongst the different ethnic groups in the state, gave Deltans sense of belonging in governance, create massive employment for the theming youths and accelerate the socio – economic development of the state.

He remarked that Delta State was lucky to have Chief James Ibori as governor of the state between 1999 – 2007 , insisting that the pace he set has remained a standard for all the governor that came into power after him.

While praying to God to give Chief Ibori, long life, good health, abundance Joy and prosperity as he celebrate his 65th birthday anniversary and a remarkable achievements on planet Earth, he called on the people of Delta State to join hands and pray for Ibori and his future endeavours.

The Senate has agreed to hold an extensive debate on the request by chairman of ECOWAS and President of the federal republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following military takeover in Niger Republic.

President Tinubu in a letter read by the President of the Senate on Friday, briefed and requested the chamber’s approval of the implementation of the resolutions by the ECOWAS heads on government and state held on Sunday.

The statement reads thus:

Political situation in Niger.

Following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of its President, ECOWAS under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected govt. in a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communique.

1. Closure and monitoring of all land borders with Niger Republic and reactivating of the border drilling excercise.

2. Cutting off Electricity supply to Niger Republic

3. Mobilizing international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique

4. Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic

5. Blockade of goods in transit to Niger especially from Lagos and eastern seaports

6. Embarking on sensitization of Nigerians and Nigeriens on the imperative of these actions particularly via social media

7. Military build up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has congratulated immediate past Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate and the Delta State APC governorship candidate in the 2023 general election, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, as he clocks 60 on Thursday.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, in Asaba, the Governor said Omo-Agege, who represented Delta Central Senatorial District, is an illustrious son of Delta whose accomplishment in life and politics were commendable.

According to him, Omo-Agege gave a good account of himself in the Senate. He commended the former lawmaker who was his main opponent as Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last general election for the infrastructure he attracted to the State, especially the Federal Polytechnic, Orogun.

The Governor said: “On behalf of my family, the Government and people of Delta, I congratulate my dear brother and friend, the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, an illustrious son of Delta, Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR, on the occasion of his 60th birth anniversary.

“As a State, we are happy that while in office, you attracted an institution of higher learning which in few years to come will contribute immensly to employment generation and source of income and livelihood to Deltans and Nigerians.

“On this special day of your diamond anniversary, it is my prayer that God will grant you many more years in good health to render greater service to God and humanity”.

Delta State Government, Thursday, said it may consider investment in electric vehicles for mass transportation to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal on the citizens.

The State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori stated this shortly after inspection and test-drive of two electric vehicles presented by Ajaere Motors and Jet Motor Company at Government House, Asaba.

He said he was putting up a Committee to be headed by Secretary to the State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu to look into the economic viability and operational sustainability of electric vehicles in Nigeria.

“This is the first time I have the opportunity to drive electric vehicles and you can see that it’s smooth, noiseless and comfortable, and with the way the price of fuel is going up electric vehicles are better at this time because everybody is trying to move away from fuel to save cost.

“The Electric vehicles (E.V) are cheaper; the only thing is that we are still studying this model and we are coming out with our own decision very shortly, to know whether to go in that direction, especially with the present hike in petrol price.

“Everybody is trying to go in that direction. It will also be economical and the good thing about this is that I am putting together a team headed by the Secretary to the State Government, to understudy this and see if it is something the state can do to support the transporters and reduce cost of transportation,” he stated.

Also speaking, Chairman of Jet Motors, Chidi Ajaere said investing in electric vehicles was the way to go considering that the vehicles were eco-friendly and cheaper to manage.

He said future thinking mobility companies are investing in electric vehicles as the cost of transportation has become so high due to rising cost of fuel and maintenance.

Ajaere said: “The Federal Government is already taking the initiative of investing in electric vehicles. We have abundance of sun in Nigeria, so the idea for the Federal Government and the Delta State government is looking into building solar powered charging infrastructure.

“The two biggest cost drivers for transportation is cost of maintenance and cost of fueling but with electric vehicles you eliminate the cost of maintenance and the cost of petrol thereby reducing the cost of transportation by almost 80 percent.

“The life span of the battery is about eight to ten years and the bigger vehicles can do about 300km on a full charge; that’s like moving from Lagos to Ibadan and back to Lagos or from Asaba to Warri and back to Asaba.

“All we need is just the Federal Government building solar charging stations along the way for these vehicles when travelling a longer distance so that when the passengers come down to ease themselves like they usually do, you can plug in your car to charge for some time before continuing your journey.

“In the rainy season, the solar charging infrastructures will have batteries that would store power for these vehicles to charge on gloomy days like this.

“Those stations can also be attached to CNG powered lines to help charge vehicles during the rainy season”.

Former Legislative Leader of Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, Hon. Princess Josephine Oduaran has disassociated herself from a recent protest by some youths and strongly condemned the protest against the nomination of Hon. Reuben Yakubu Izeze as commissioner designate by the State Governor, His Excellency, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, and described the protest as self serving, needless, totally condemable, unacceptable and uncalled for.

In a statement made available to newsmen, Hon. Princess Josephine Oduaran who also served as acting Chairman of Ughelli South Local Government Area, disassociated herself from the protest organized and led by some youths from the Ewu axis to government house, Asaba on Monday 24th July, 2023 on the ground that commissioner slot is baseless and whole no ground noting that Olorogun J.U Oguma, leaders of Ughelli South and Chief Oviri Uto the leader of the EWU axis were not informed and not aware of the movement

According to her; “Ewu is an autonomous kingdom, their protest should not be linked to the political leaders in Olomu/Effurun-Otor kingdom. In light of these concerns, I sincerely urge all stakeholders vested and interested on issues of political appointments in the Local Government Area to kindly direct their question to the protesters and did not have the blessing of all Ewu Leaders”.

“I seize this opportunity once again to tell our youths, my beloved brothers and sisters from EWU to be patient with our amiable Governor, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori as he just started the sharing and it will go round everyone and that we should all pray for him and support and his administration’s M.O.R.E agenda”, she added.

She also said that; “It must be placed on record that I wholeheartedly welcome the appointment of Hon. Barr. Rueben Izeze as commissioner designate. Hon Barr. Rueben Izeze is tested and trusted and I know for sure that a he will bring to bear his knowledge and experience in his new assignment”.

The Majority Leader of Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Engr. Emeka Emmanuel Nwaobi has said that the proposed Owa-Alero Independent Power Project would maximise production capacity of Delta State in all spheres of economic activities.

He made the statement while addressing newsmen after the Wednesday 2nd August, 2023 plenary where the letter seeking the approval of the Assembly by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was read and considered through a motion by the Majority Leader.

The Governor had sought the approval of the Legislature to set up a 2.5 Megawatts Power Plant at Owa-Alero by Owa-Alero Independent Power Project Limited, to generate electricity to power critical sectors of Government institutions/establishments and to ensure that no power generated is wasted.

At the plenary, Hon. Nwaobi had called on the Distinguished Honourable Members to give speedy approval to the Governor’s request, maintaining that there was no gainsaying the project would increase productivity of economic activities, including helping Government to ensure that the institutions the IPP intends to power would function optimally.

While the proposal was approved at plenary, Nwaobi told the press that the Government had taken a worthwhile initiative that is of best interest to Delta State as far as electricity generation policy is concerned.

He therefore advised the Executive to strictly follow up to ensure that the Project, which is on a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) arrangement, is speedily implemented and effectively managed for optimal result.

Gov. Peter Mbah says his government has rolled out palliatives to mitigate the economic hardship fuelled by President Bola Tinubu’s petrol subsidy removal.

The governor disclosed this on Monday in Enugu while inaugurating a committee for procuring, storing and distributing relief items to Enugu residents.

He charged committee members, chaired by Deputy Governor Ifeanyi Ossai, to handle the palliatives with transparency while ensuring the speedy distribution of the items to those in dire need.

Also, committee members include the chairman of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) in Enugu, the chairman of Nkanu East council area, Okechukwu Edeh. ALGON deputy chairman and chairman of Uzo Uwani LGA, Chukwudi Nnadozie, chairman of Awgu LGA, Pedro Nwankwo and Enugu East LGA chair Livinus Anike.

Others are the special adviser to the governor on agriculture, Mike Ogbuekwe, programme manager of Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP), Ogbonna Onyeisi, and the head of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Chinasa Mbah.

Mr Mbah, who acknowledged the harsh impact of the fuel subsidy on the people, further said that the subsidy removal would immensely benefit Nigerians in the long run.

While maintaining that he shared Nigerians’ pains, Mr Mbah hoped the palliatives would help alleviate their hardships. He also urged the committee to spare no time in ensuring that the palliatives were sent to “homes of those that need them the most in the state.”

The Enugu governor said, “You recall that a few months ago, the federal government of Nigeria removed the fuel subsidy. And as you know, that came with pains, shared pains, even though we believe in the long run, it will be beneficial to the country. The question for us now as leaders is, how do we mitigate those shared pains that our people are going to be exposed to?”

He added, “It is part of what we are doing to see how we can begin to cushion the effects of some of these pains. So, what we are doing now is to see how to fix the pains people are going through, and there are also plans for short and medium-term solutions, and that we are going to do in due course.”

The governor further charged the committee to ensure that the palliatives got to the people who deserved it and that it was distributed quickly and transparently.

(NAN)

The Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori and his Edo State counterpart, Mr Godwin Obaseki, on Sunday, felicitated Archbishop Margaret Idahosa as she clocked 80 years.

They spoke at a thanksgiving service held in her honour at the Church of God Mission convention ground, the Balm of Gilead, Benin City, Edo State.

Oborevwori said that he was happy to celebrate with Idahosa on her 80th birthday.

The governor who was represented by his Deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, prophetically declared that Idahosa would live up to 150 years so that the Christian family and humanity would continue to tap from the grace of God upon her.

“Greetings from the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori; he has sent me to specially come and congratulate you on your 80th birthday anniversary celebration.

“The Arch-Bishop, my Governor, our Governor wishes you many more years, good health and prosperity, and may you live up to 150 years,” Oborevwori said.

He prayed that she would live long for the coming generation to continue to tap from the grace of God upon her life.

The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki in his remarks corroborated the Delta State Governor, saying that from her look, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa would live up to 150 years.

Governor Obaseki who said he was happy to be present at the ceremony, described Idahosa as a mother who has passion for the work of God.

Archbishop Margaret Idahosa in a brief statement commended the Delta State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori and the Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme for finding time to celebrate with her, praying that they would also live long in good health.

An ultra modern Hall built by the church was inaugurated to cap the celebration.