“As Newly elected Chapel Chairman Orusi Swings Into Progressive Actions

Chairman, Indigenous Correspondence Chapel of the Nigeria Union Journalist, (NUJ), Comrade Kenneth Ejovwokeoghene Orusi has announced the date for Congress.
Comrade Orusi made this known through a press release issued to Journalists in Asaba, Delta State by the Chapel’s Secretary, Comrade Josephine Omodior.
He stated that the Congress, which was the first to hold upon his assumption to office, would take place on Tuesday, March, 21,2023 by 11 am at the Chapel’s Secretariat, off Nnebisi road, Asaba.
According to him, decisions leading to the growth of the Chapel would be topmost in the agenda of the Congress.
While inviting members to attend the inaugural meeting since his assumption as Chairman, Comrade Orusi promised to take the Chapel to an enviable height.
Comrade Orusi had earlier won the incumbent Chairman, Comrade Andy Akpo Emephia with a 15 votes against 11 votes, during the Chapel’s election held recently.

Uche Umemezie

Very sympathetic to the former Private Secretary to Hon. Engr. Emeka Nwaobi, member representing Aniocha North Constituency in Delta State House of Assembly, who was hospitalised after losing his polling unit at Martin Primary School, Issele-Uku to his former boss whom he swore to humiliate in the State House of Assembly election.

Hon. Engr. Emeka Nwaobi

Eye witnesses said, Uche Umemezie was very dull after seeing the intimidating crowd of voters who were going to cast their votes to Hon. Nwaobi who shared the same polling unit with him.

They said the embattled PA who was initially full of life, started losing strength at the polling unit to the extent that people started asking him if he was well.

At the point of leaving the venue when it was obvious that Nwaobi was leading at the unit, including feelers from other polling units, he quickly stormed out.

However, our source revealed that he slumped by his car and was helped up, after which, he managed to leave the venue.

It was later gathered that he was hospitalised as soon as the result declaring Nwaobi as winner of the election was announced.

Evidence abound that he was complaining to people around him that Mama Siunoje, another embattled Issele-Uku Chief who lured him to resign from Nwaobi’s appointment and defect to APC, had deceived him.

Meanwhile, Political Observers have said that this is a lesson to greedy politicians who were picked from the gutters only to later turn around to stab their benefactors in the back.

The governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has taken the lead in the race for the gubernatorial seat of Delta State, according to official result from the twenty-five Local Government Collation Centres across the state.

Front the collation centres, results for twenty-three government areas have been concluded, while two are still being collated.

Sheriff Oborevwori, the candidate polled about 72% of the votes, while the Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC got 21.1% in the already concluded twenty-three local government.

The Labour Party candidate, Ken Pella, trails behind with 4%, while other parties shared the leftover.

The local government areas where collation has been concluded are; Bomadi, Burutu, Isoko North, Isoko South, Patani, Warri North, Warri South, Warri South West, Ethiope East, Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North East, Ika South, Nndokwa East, Nndokwa West, Oshimili South, Oshimili North, Ukwuani, Sapele, Okpe, Ughelli South, Udu and Uvwie.

The results of Ethiope West and Ughelli North local government areas are the two still being collated.

In Ethiope West, the PDP candidate is in comfortable lead in some of the collated Ward results, while the APC candidate trails neck to neck.

Meanwhile, there are widespread reports of vote tampering of Ethiope West Ward 7 and Ward 8 to favor the APC candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission Electoral Officer Ethiope West council, Mrs. Odiurho Rhoda Oke, and one Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu.

There are also reported falsification of votes in Ughelli North LGA where the APC candidate hails from.

Issele-Uku, the headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, was today agog, as a chief of the community, who is also a political thug, Chief David Kanyinebi Siunoje a.k.a Mama (Olikeze) was beaten to a pulp for attempting to snatch ballot box at Omado and Adams Primary Schools polling units.

News had it that he tried compromising some voters in his own polling unit at Omado Primary School which angered the youths who had to beat him up.

Not done with his criminal tendencies, he moved to another location at Adams Primary School polling unit, where he attempted snatching the ballot box and BVAS, but he was caught and beaten like a common criminal.

An eye witness who narrated the incident to us, said he was later let go because of his traditional status as a chief in Issele-Uku.

However, some elders of the community have been speaking on the matter, calling it a brazen show of shame on the part of the embattled chief.

Others who claimed anonymity had called on the Traditional Ruler of the community, HRM Agbogidi Obi Nduka to immediately strip him of his Chieftaincy Title for bringing the coveted name of the town to disrepute.

Evidence has it that apart from being a dubious character who is on hide and seek for duping a client #7m, allegedly for visa racket, he is also indebted to an Ubulu man to the tune of #27m.

Our source had further hinted that the said Ubulu man had come to report Mama to the Palace, threatening to invoke some powerful deity on him over the fraud perpetrated against him (Ubulu man).

Mama as he is fondly called, recently returned from Canada where he ran to with his family after allegedly stealing from the government of Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, Governor of Delta State, who appointed him as PA.

He returned from Canada to advance his fraudulent activities by joining the APC as a political jobber on a mission to duping more victims.

Member elect Representing Warri Federal Constituency at The House of Representatives, Hon. Chief Thomas Ereyitomi has casted his ballot at his Ogidigben Ward in Warri South-West LGA, Delta State.

Chief Ereyitomi after exercising his franchise expressed assurance that his party will win, he described the process as peaceful and orderly, urging all to be calm and maintain the peace.

Voters were advised to turn out enmasse to cast their ballot

Prophet Austin Ariole JP

The General Overseer of Goshen Freedom Tabernacle,GFT in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State,Prophet Austin Ariole JP on Sunday March 12 told the opposition who lost that no Court can upturn the 2023 presidential results in their favour.

Prophet Ariole said, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and there’s nothing anyone could do about it.

While noting that he is not a supporter of any of the presidential candidates, Prophet Ariole said the opposition will not obtain any judgement to upturn the results.

According to him, “There’s no Court that can deliver that judgement. The tribunal cannot. The cabal control the Court.”

He added that the opposition should just allow the president elect as well as the result by INEC stay saying,”There’s nothing anyone could do about it “.

It would be recalled that the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party , Mr. Peter Obi as well as the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had approached the Court to contest the 2023 presidential election result after INEC declared Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC winner and president elect of the just concluded election which held on February 25, 2023.

Convocation Ceremony of the 3rd batch of DESOPADEC Skills Academy graduands

As a mission statement expressly provided in the law setting up DESOPADEC by the Delta State House of Assembly in 2006 and fully activated in July 2007, the Commission is meant “To put smiles on the faces of the people in the host oil and gas producing communities of the State through massive infrastructural and human capital development.”

Ogulagha Model Secondary School complete with fully furnished boarding facilities, ultra modern dinning hall, science laboratories, staff room and water treatment plant

Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, at the Matriculation Ceremony of the 4th batch of DESOPADEC Skills Academy trainees

Without undermining one for the other, the current board rolled up its sleeves from the blast of the whistle to deliver balanced intervention across the mandate areas in critical infrastructure, education, health, housing, water, road, transportation sub-sectors, as well as in re-skilling the youth in a well thought-out, all-purpose vocational programme to empower them.

The result was the creation of the DESOPADEC Skills Acquisition Academy with the endpoint of making the youth properly skilled, gainfully engaged and productively useful to themselves.

This innovative human capital development template which was officially kick-started in the first quarter of 2020 in a well structured non-formal curriculum saw successful pioneer candidates admitted into the scheme in a grand Matriculation Ceremony.

The intent was clear: To give successful trainees a lifetime opportunity in honing their skills in various chosen vocational fields. The skills acquisition scope include Welding and Fabrications; Electrical and Electronic Repairs; Solar Energy Works; Tiling, Interlocking and P.O.P. Works; Catering and Confectioneries; Shoe, Bag Making and Leather Works; Information and Communication Technology, ICT; Health, Safety and Environment, HSE; Fashion Design and Tailoring; Hairdressing and Makeover.

The programme entails a 6-month intensive training and practical exposure, and assessment, evaluation and certification by relevant national technical education boards.

The DESOPADEC Skills Acquisition Academy started with 160 trainees drawn from all the six ethnic nationalities within the mandate areas. They underwent an orientation programme on financial management and efficient book keeping preparatory for their eventual graduation which held at the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI., Effurun, Delta State.

The highpoint of the graduation ceremony was their being well resourced with modern working tools and equipment, aka Starter Packs, to get them to hit the ground running from day one.

It must be stated here that besides the huge investment in their training and starter packs, the graduands also generally got a cash backup of N200,000 each. Some graduands got extra N500,000 each for emerging as best trainee in their respective fields while a star prize of N1 million was awarded to the Overall Best Trainee.

The extra gestures were borne out of a deep commitment by a responsive team and leadership determined to touch lives in a most salutary and impactful way.

The DESOPADEC Skills Academy has graduated two sessions and graduates its 3rd batch by the end of January 2023 after which the 4th batch would immediately commence.

Mention must also necessarily be made of the highly impactful annual Bursary Scheme in favour of tens of thousands of mandate areas students in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The impact of this payment to the students is to be appreciated in the fact that many of them have expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Board and Management of DESOPADEC for their responsiveness, especially at the very precarious period of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In keeping with the tradition, arrangement is already concluded for the commencement of payment of for 2022/2023 within the month of February.

Without doubt, the human capital development agenda of the current DESOPADEC board has been greeted with huge aplomb and commended by Government and diverse traditional and community leaders as a noble partnership that supports the greater vision of the Okowa administration which is to build as many youths in the state into responsible, financially independent and prosperous citizens.

Nothing truly could be too much to achieve this focal objective. Little wonder the awards have kept pouring in in torrents to a Commission that has become the toast of a dozen media and award conferment establishments!

Undoubtedly, our testimonial of infrastructure and human capital development interventions evidence a deep commitment to the elevation of human dignity and environmental equity for the people and communities of Delta State oil producing areas. It is a commitment that DESOPADEC will continue to rekindle for the good of the people.

By: Ella Justice

Calls for urgent mitigation during March 18 poll

A Non Governmental Organizations, NGO, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) with support from the International Republican Institute, (IRI) , Centre For Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ as well as other Civil Society Organization, CSOs have trained over 50 Election security monitoring persons across the 25 LGAs in Delta state.

Chairman of Delta State Peace And Mediation Working Committee, On Election Violence Mitigation And Monitoring (EVMM) Project, Amb. Prince D. Ebilade, in a press conference held in Asaba Monday March 14 said Nigerian civil society will make use of data-driven approaches to identify vulnerabilities to electoral violence, monitor and report on incidents of violence, and deliver targeted counter-violence messaging to mitigate electoral violence for the 2023 general elections.

According to Amb. Ebilade they have trained 50 security monitors in Delta State and 276 across Six states in Nigeria, which Delta State is included with monitors per LGA, to monitor and observe the pre-election, election-day and post-election periods for incidents of violence, incidents that could engender violence (potential for violence), and voter education with a view to explore opinions, knowledge and non-violence expectations regarding the forthcoming general election; and also to examine real and potential security threats in the State so as to identify early warning signals that could assist relevant stakeholders, especially the INEC, security agencies and civil society organizations (CSOs) to deploy appropriate responses.

He noted that in a bid to mitigate electoral violence, the State Peace and Mediation Working Committee was set up. The Seven Man Peace and Mediation Working Committee members in the state will support electoral violence mitigation efforts towards peaceful, free, fair, and credible elections in February and March 2023, as well as intervene in critical issues of security concerns through high-level advocacy and dispute resolution.

The Delta EVMM Chairman stressed that one of the primary goals of the Election Violence Mitigation and Monitoring (EVMM) project Key Findings by the 50 security monitors were responsible for monitoring the : Physical Violence, Property Destruction, Protests, Inciting Violence, Recruiting Thugs, Arming Thugs, Government Restrictions on Political Activities, barred from using public spaces for campaigns and Vote Buying, among others, as indicators of electoral violence Reports from the trained long-term security monitors deployed between 17th December 2022 and 4th February 2023 also identified Eight (8) Delta LGAs where election violence as prominent violence perpetrated in Delta State: physical violence, properties destruction, protest, and vote buying are likely to take place are as follows : Ughelli South, Ughelli North, Eihiope East, Sapele, Udu, Oshimili South, Aniocha South and Warri North LGAs.

Amb. Ebilade also raised the alarm that three (3) out of the LGAs have experienced electoral violence. adding that , the report has shown that the recruitment and arming of thugs are ongoing in some parts of the state.

The press terse read in part thus: “Call to Action:Noting that the general election is a few days away, KDI at this moment request and passionately pleads with all stakeholders: INEC, political parties, candidates, youth leaders, security officers and political Stalwarts to please play by the rule and ensure a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the election.

.”INEC is enjoined to ensure all election materials arrive at the various polling units timeously and election commences promptly to avoid any form of violence. INEC must ensure that all the ad-hoc staff posted to the field are well-equipped and have the capacity to handle the business of the polls, as any perceived ineptitude on the part of INEC staff could call for violence.

“Security agents should conduct themselves in a professional and impartial manner and ensure justice in discharging their duty. The security agents must not be heard, seen, or perceived to be in support of any political party or help in perpetrating election fraud. Any act of partisanship on the part of the security agents can jeopardize the peace in the State.

“The media is encouraged to use all platforms, be it TV, radio, print or social media, to enlighten the citizens on the conduct of the election and preach peaceful conduct of the general election.

“The media are requested to be professional and desist from fake news in their reporting, bearing in mind that the people count on them for genuine unbiased reporting, Political Parties are requested to desist from all activities that could scare the people away from the polls. The likelihood of voter apathy is high if the bout of violence been perpetrated by party thugs and supporters continues through to election day., Political parties are requested to enlighten their members on the need to observe a peaceful election.

“All candidates involved in the forthcoming elections are requested to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for all by ensuring that their followers are not used to foment violence in any Ward or Local Government Area/Council. Religious and traditional rulers are enjoined to engage their people and use their exalted positions to convince them to shun violence and embrace peace at the general election.In conclusion, all election stakeholders need to ensure that all efforts are made towards having a violence-free general election in Delta State, as we hope for a peaceful atmosphere during and after the selection”. It concluded.

By,: Celestine Ukah 

*Says Sheriff as longest serving DTHA Speaker shows his leadership excellence 

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State, Chief Abraham Eghwrudjakpor has declared that 85 percent of Deltans are behind the PDP Delta State Governorship Candidate, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori , therefore are Sheriffied and that his Victory is sure at the forthcoming March 18 Governorship and House Assembly poll.

Chief Eghwrudjakpor made this declaration Wednesday March 15 in Warri, shortly after speaking on a live TV program on the role of stakeholders towards the 2023 Governorship, he pleaded with electorate across the 25 LGAs in Delta State to cast their vote for the PDP guber candidate, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, describing him as the best experienced to governor Delta State.

The Delta PDP chieftain who is also from Delta Central same Senatorial District with the PDP Governorship candidate stressed that Rt. Hon. Oborevwori popularity among Deltans gives him more edge to emerge victorious at the election.

While commending the governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa for his excellent, remarkable leadership of PDP and governance of Delta State, Chief Eghwrudjakpor pointed out that Sheriff as the longest serving Delta State House of Assembly, DTHA Speaker has shows his leadership excellence and service to Deltans and as a result of that his winning chance is 100 percent sure on Saturday March 18.

He solicited for more support around Sheriff in the election as he’s optimistic of victory.

The Chairman of Anti Corruption and Integrity Forum and Publisher of Integrity Watchdog Magazine, Comrade Prince Kpokpogri has been canvassing support for the PDP Governorship candidate, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori in his Isoko extraction of the State, adding that Sheriff’s Governorship would usher in MORE opportunities for Deltans.

The Activist who said he had long declared his support for Sheriff Oborevwori, affirmed that he had experienced relationship with all the Governorship candidates and so knows what each and everyone of them can offer.

He appealed to his people to vote for the outgoing Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly to become the next Governor, because of his track records and what Isoko and by extension, all Deltans stand to benefit.

According to him, “Delta State as a complex multi ethnic entity does not need a tyrant as Governor and one who stabs everybody in the back in his quest for power. We don’t need a national disgrace again; let what previously happened in Abuja remain in Abuja. This is Delta State, we must save the soul of Delta from those who can betray their own people just by an offer of a pot of porridge.

“You can’t tie me to any political party. I support candidates who are credible and acceptable to the people by their down to earth connection to them, irrespective of their statuses or political affiliations.

“In terms of what Sheriff Oborevwori has done as a leader, he is far above any of the other candidates in terms of achievements and service delivery to the people.

“Ability to speak English is not my concern, but ability to deliver and achieve results when it matters most. Sheriff Oborevwori as a community Chairman, withstood every odd against him and achieved milestones in building enduring legacies of peace and development in Osubi.

“Sheriff Oborevwori became a first term lawmaker in Delta State House of Assembly that became the longest serving with unrivalled accomplishments. Did he achieve all of that by fluency in English Language that we borrowed? No. He achieved all that because, he has capacity, dexterity and impeccable belief in peace and harmony.

“Let’s give him our support and you can hold me responsible for vouching on his behalf, for what he is capable of doing. Trust me when I say Sheriff Oborevwori will out perform his predecessor. I have this implicit confidence in him. Thank you for your mature understanding”, Kpokpogri explained.