By Francis Sadhere
The people of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Council of Delta State are not happy with the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, expressing disappointment over his approach to the renewed insurgency in the area.
They accused the governor of shirking his responsibility as he was supposed to lead the visit to the creeks to talk to critical stakeholders instead of sending his deputy, whose visit has not made any significant impact.
Chairman of Kokodiagbene Community in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, gave the damning verdict, saying that governor Okowa should have followed in the steps of the former governor, Chief James Ibori, who led a strong delegation to the creeks in the heat of the inter-ethnic crisis to parley the warring factions.
But rather than leading the advocacy team, Governor Okowa delegated the responsibility to his deputy knowing fully well that the issue was a very delicate and knotty one.
He said the communities believed that the recommendations of the advocacy committee must have been delivered to Abuja, yet the government has continued to send more troops and military hard wares to the area.
He stated that from the prevailing militarization of the area, it was clear that the issue was oil and not the interest of the people, who he maintained were being tortured and abused by the military hunting for the rampaging militants.
‘’We are very disappointed with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. During the inter-ethnic crisis between the Ijaw and Itsekiri, it was Ibori who led a delegation to the creeks to discuss with the warring factions and this went a long way in stopping the inter-ethnic conflagration. We expected Okowa to toe the same line and lead a delegation to the creeks and engage key stakeholders instead he abandoned his duty.
‘’We cannot continue in this manner. We believe the recommendations of the advocacy committee have been sent to the federal government, yet they have continued to deployed more troops to our communities. We can see from the on-goings that the siege is not about chasing the militants away, it is about the oil. They are interested in the oil and not the people. This is why they are harassing and molesting innocent citizens, trampling upon their rights with impunity’’.
