By Francis Sadhere
Ijaw opinion youth leader and Chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC) Mr. Cletus Opukeme on Saturday tasked the Ijaws across Niger Delta to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari for the second time to attract development to the region.
He said the Ijaws did not play a vital role in the emergence of Mr. President first tenure which virtually affected and skewed meaningful federal appointments and other federal projects to the region.
He said this would not happen to the Ijaws again as they are prepared to vote enmass for Buhari’s second tenure.
Opukeme, from Burutu LGA, a media guru and publisher of Daily Watch, an Abuja based online news made the appeal during a media session with journalists in Warri.
He urged Ijaws in Delta state never to make the mistake of voting Governor Okowa who he said abandoned the Ijaw riverine communities with no tangible projects for the four years, despite the block votes he was given in the Ijaw area in 2015.
He assured that if the Ijaws vote for Chief Great Ogboru as next executive governor and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan as the Senator, Delta South Senatorial District, the duo will attract human capital, infrastructural development to the oil rich but abandoned riverine communities.
He noted that the reason for Uduaghan’s candidacy cannot be over-emphasized as he will unite the three Ethnic nationalities together as people with one common problem of under development.
He said Uduaghan, who was unlike Okowa who had implemented several sustainable projects and empowered and built several personalities across the riverine communities, if given the mandate as senator representing Delta South Senatorial district, he would do more.
He said, ‘‘Buhari, Ogboru and Uduaghan will put their heads together to focus attention on the development of the riverine communities in Niger Delta. Chief Great Ogboru and Uduaghan will correct the infrastructure imbalance in Ijaw land as detribalized leaders who will pay attention in the development of Ijaw communities, if voted.
‘‘ Buhari has a lot of goodwill for the people of Niger Delta and we as a people will not allow this great opportunity pass us. We will not vote again for people who will abandon us after election. Ijaws gave Okowa block votes and he in turn gave them zero project allocation’’ he said.
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