Hon. Griftson Omatsuli is the former Chief Whip of Warri South Legislative Arm. In this interview with Tejiri Ebikeme, Nyerhovwo Oghenetejiri and Francis Sadhere, he spoke on why he is going to the Delta State House of Assembly and other issues. Read on:-
May we meet you please?
My name is Griftson Oritsetimeyin Omatsuli. Paternally I am an indigene of Ubeji community. My father, late Chief Akomi Omatsuli and my mother, Mrs. Christiana Ekube Omatsuli. She is the daughter of late Pa Ekube who is the son of Late Pirah of Ugborodo and Ogidigben communities. My father hailed from Ubeji community and mother is from Ugborodo and Ogidigben. My grandmother, late Madam Mary Ireyefoju is of Idudun Family of Okere, Utonla and Orugbo communities. So I am from Warri Kingdom.
Your political experiences so far
In 1995/96 under the zero party system, I was elected as councillor representing Ubeji ward, I served as a councillor under Dr. Joseph Otumara for a period of nine months because that was the duration of that tenure. Then in 1997 when the issue of partisanship came up, different political parties were formed and myself and Dr. Otumara with other leaders, under the tutelage of Dr. Roland Oritsejafor, we all joined the Democratic Party of Nigerian (DPN) then. I contested as a councillor under Ubeji ward and I won. After the swearing-in, we were suspended within the shortest period of two weeks as a result of the Warri Crisis. That was the period of local government headquarters agitation. Based on that agitation, particularly on the issue of creation of local government, which was done by the then military administration. We challenged that suspension in various courts. We won all our cases but we were prevented from assuming our offices. We battled this for a period of one year and eight months before the death of General Sani Abacha in 1998. When Abacha died and General Abdulsalami came in, we thought we will be called back, but the entire political structure then was dissolved. Abdulsalami came on board and he promised to give Nigeria a new breed of democracy which he did by setting up various reconciliation committees. Towards the end of 1998 new political structures were put in place, myself and other political leaders joined the PDP (we were the founding fathers of PDP in Warri South Local Government Area). In 1999 myself and my boss, Dr. Joseph Otumara won as Councilor and Chairman respectively and we were sworn in that same year. We all served and completed the tenure in 2002. During my tenure as a councillor under Dr. Joseph Otumara, I was appointed then as a Supervisory Councillor for Youths, Sports and Culture. I was in that position for about two years before that system was changed to a presidential system. The structure was returned to the legislative system and I was made the Chief Whip of the Legislative Arm of the Warri South local government. During that period too, the council gave me other strategic position (Contract Verification Committee). So I was appointed as the Chairman, Contract Verification Committee for Warri South Local Government Council. This assignment I carried out beautifully well. Those that I verified their jobs in the local government as at that time will attest to this. I did not put myself in any position that will bring my person and the party down and that was why they had that explicit confidence in me under that dispensation. I was also made the Chairman, House Committee on Works, Housing and Transportation of Warri South Local Government Area. These I did very well and at the end of the day that administration did perfectly well. To me, up till date, my boss, Dr. Joseph Otumara is still a hard working commissioner. From 2002 when the administration ended, I returned to my community (Ubeji) and served as Secretary to the community.
Why are you in the race for Delta State House Assembly?
In 2009 and 2010 when I was still the Education Secretary for Warri South Local Government Education Authority, my people called me to come vie for the position in the state house of assembly because they believed in my performances and also very accessible.
What are some of your achievements that makes you people call upon you to vie for that position?
I have done a lot for my people in terms of employment, skill acquisition programmes through some companies that are operating within the vicinity of our communities, participation in political, social cultural and economic activities that has direct positive impact on the lives of the people in the communities within and outside Warri South Local Government Area. I am in the Delta State House of Assembly to attract more development and dividends of democracy to my people.
What are your chances of winning the election in 2015?
I will tell you that my chances are with God. I will not tell you that I know it all but I know that my people are with me on this. I have been consulting with my people for some time now and I know that by the grace of God I will certainly deliver Warri South Constituency 1 for PDP come February 28, 2015. It is not just going to be an ordinary victory, it is going to be a landslide victory because the various wards in this constituency are ready to deliver PDP, without chaos.
Now if you get there, what are some of the things that you will bring to them?
The act of law-making is no longer new to me as far as I am concerned. I have already acquired that experience. I have served as a councilor before. To me in law-making there are three principal things that are required, especially in the legislative arm. One is law making, two is performing of an oversight function and lastly, Evaluation/Appraisal.
We are being told that Hon. Mrs. Omawumi Udoh, will be going back again, will there be any clash?
There will be no clash my brothers. I do not see anything like clash between me and my sister. If she is coming back, nobody is going to prevent anyone because everyone has the right to vie for any political positions.
Are you saying that if you are asked to step down for her again, will you do it?
I have told you before that the whole thing is going to be a party affair. It is not a do or die affair. I do not want to represent my people on the basis of a do or die affair. But I will only pray to our people, particularly the leadership of our party, the PDP to give me the opportunity to serve my people.
How do we stamp out youth restiveness from our communities?
First and foremost, the question is, do we still have youth restiveness in our communities? In the past we used to have youth restiveness. I have been a board member of the Itsekiri National Youth Council for over two years now. As far as the Itsekiri kingdom is concerned, we have been interacting with the youths, we know what they want, things that can trigger violence and also what can hurt the feelings of the youths. We are not going to embark on anything that will disturb the peace of the area. And if such things arise, there are strategies we can use to nip it at the bud.
Message to your constituency
I want to appeal to the electorate that they should play politics with the spirit of sportsmanship. Let there be peace. PDP will remain PDP and they should believe in PDP. PDP is the only party which has that spirit of detribalization. It is the only party that has a well robust policy, ideology and transformation agenda. If you look at all these things we are enjoying today, with respect to infrastructural development, human capital development, peace and security. It is only PDP states that can guarantee all these policies. I want to tell you that all other parties are just wasting their time. Go and check the lists of those that formed the other parties, you will discover that they are either aggrieved members of PDP or new politicians. The real politicians well known today are all PDP members. So as far as Delta State is concerned there is no other political party. Forget whatever sentiment that are attached on any issue by other parties or individuals, PDP is the grassroots party that can deliver on their ideals of services. It is not a ghost party. Up to the last person in the community, they are all members of PDP. PDP is a party that is bound to win anywhere because of the integrity of the people in it. So it is a party that is bound to win any election as far as Delta State is concerned and we will continue to do it.
