By Austin Ogwuda
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori gives his Deputy, Monday Onyeme marching order to ensure speedy connection to the grid
IN what seems to be damage control measure, the Delta State governor Sheriff Oborevwori hurriedly addressed a press conference today (Wednesday) accusing the Ndokwa protesters of spreading wrong narratives about the age-long Okpai Power Plant Step Down while absolving self from any negligence or delay over the vexed issue.
The State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads)/Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, who spoke on behalf of the governor while reacting to the protest said that “For a very very long time transmission remained the exclusive preserve of the federal government and that meant that even when you generate you will need to upload the power you have generated into the national grid for onward distribution to the other parts of the country.
“But over time there were some form of deregulation started from the Jonathan administration which paid to it for some private sector players to come in and that made it possible for certain individuals in the private sector to invest in power generation and distribution.
“Only recently, certain form of liberalization have taken place and to the extent now that states can go into some form of generation and distribution but under certain conditions.
“The Okpai power project”, he went on, “is not a State government project, we can only begin to make effort to see how we can begin to also benefit and that is ongoing.
“I am also aware the Deputy governor of the State, Sir Monday Onyeme who is from the Ndokwa nation have been mandated by the governor to begin to look into how we can ensure that our brothers and sisters over there gets connected.
“They have had several meetings with them and effort is being made to deal with the challenges between the then Power Holding Company before it moved to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company as to how to settle certain outstanding liabilities so that they can begin a process of getting them reconnected to the grid.
“Because there was this absence of power that power distribution channels along that corridor being energized, it made it possible for some criminals to tamper with the power infrastructure in that corridor so which means that it’s now a question of going to provide certain power or energy infrastructure for them to be effectively connected”.
Aniagwu further clarified that Governor Oborevwori administration has done quite a lot for the Ndokwa nation and other parts of the State and appealed for patience while government addresses their concerns.
“In the last EXCO, you saw the approval of the Aboh – Akarai Road. That is a very, very challenging area and there is also a bridge along that corridor. That particular project at the end of the day will cost not less than N29 billion to be able to effectively connect our people in the Aboh – Akarai axis to their other brothers still in Ndokwa East.
“Governor Oborevwori is the one who made the move to say that, yes, these people need to be connected and so the government that is doing that has shown a whole lot of love for the people who live in that corridor.
“You are also aware of the number of roads we are carrying out in Ndokwa Nation whether it’s the over 5km Utagba-Uno – Eweshi Road, or the over 5km Ndemili-Utagba-Uno Road, still over 5km, or the Inam-Abbi Road still over 5km or the Obi-Ibabu Road, that have been completed.
“There are a number of roads within that corridor. You are also very much aware of the very speedy completion of the Beneku bridge. So that the people have now bid goodbye to the use of pontoon or certain kind of badge to convey vehicles and other items to the inner communities.
“Even when you move to Ukwuani, still in Ndokwa nation, you realize that the Amai-Aragba-Orogun road of over 8 kilometers is ongoing.
“We have concluded the Ofuegbe street in Amai and, of course, the other roads that were constructed along Obiaruku the headquarters of Ukwuani to be able to connect a particular alignment from Umutu-Eku Road. All that is happening in that federal constituency that is only in the area of roads alone.
“So we want to plead with our brothers and sisters in that corridor to begin to see the many efforts of the Oborevwori administration
towards making life much more livable for our people in that area and not to be misled by certain individuals who want to paint pictures that are completely at variance with reality”.
Group blames Gov Oborevwori and his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa for their nonchalance attitude towards the project
On its part, The Non-Indigenous Residents in Anioma (NIRA) Group backed the protest, saying “it is a direct result of the failures of both the previous administration of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and the current government led by Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
“For over 20 years, the people of Ndokwa have been denied electricity, a situation NIRA describes as unjust, unacceptable, and a clear reflection of leadership failure and neglect”.
A press release signed by the Convener, Maria Udofia on Tuesday, NIRA condemned the continued blackout in Ndokwa West and surrounding communities, despite the presence of the Oando Power Station and other energy infrastructures in the region.
“This is no longer a technical failure; this is an outright failure of governance, first by the administration of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and now worsened by the refusal of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to act on workable solutions. The state has turned its back on Ndokwa, and it is shameful”, the statement added.
We are justified to teargas the protesters, says PPRO
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer PPRO of the State Command, Bright Edafe, a Superintendent of Police, SP, said it was not wrong to shoot teargas in a protest that is violent.
Justifying why Police used teargas to disperse the protesters, Edafe said, “Any protest that people will go and block the highway and burn tyres is no longer peaceful. They were burning tyres and stoning vehicles”, he claimed.
Recall that some of the protesters were wounded in the process.
*Below is Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Sir Festus Ahon (left) and Executive Assistant to the Governor on Public Enlightenment (Projects and Policies), Mr Olisa Ifeajika (right), with Commissioner Aniagwu addressing the press conference, Wednesday.
