Chief Christian C. Ighodaro Whiliki JP is a very prominent political and community leader in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. Having held several positions in party and government administrations as well as serving as member of the Presidential Campaign Team of the Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua/Dr Goodluck Jonathan in 2007, Chief Whiliki is today the First Deputy President General of Aladja Community, host to the Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja.
In This interview with our correspondent shortly after a meeting of Aladja Community in the Town Hall, Chief Whiliki a staunch PDP leader, who holds the traditional titles of Avwarotovie of Udu Kingdom and Oromakelovie of Arhavwarien Kingdom, spoke extensively on a number of issues bordering on his political focus and the progress and well-being of his Aladja community and Udu LGA in general.
Excerpts:
Sir Let us start this session from your leadership of Aladja Community. Could you please tell us the place of Aladja in the politics and leadership of Udu LGA?
The political relevance of a community stems from its size and voting strength as well as the presence of key players in the political arena for the general progress of the larger community. First, Aladja Community prides itself as the largest community in Udu and it is one of the biggest communities in Urhobo land. Aladja has a population of about 40,000 people going by the last census figure and a voters’ strength of more than 15,000. By now, those figures have increased. The Community play host to the largest, though now moribund Delta Steel Company, the largest integrated steel plant in sub-Sahara Africa. Though the plant is present comatose due to the devious political manipulations of the issues concerning its management and operational focus, every true Urhobo son and daughter, Deltans and Nigerians in general can testify to the key place of the plant in Delta State and its economic relevance to the general well being of the people. Aladja presently has one of its sons as a member of the State Executive Council in the person of Barrister Richard Mofe Damijo, Honourable Commissioner for Culture and Tourism. The member representing Udu in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Keston Okoro is also from Aladja. We have other of our prominent sons holding key positions in government at the local, State and federal levels. So with all sense of humility, I can tell you that Aladja is a blessed land.
As a very prominent leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, what is your comment on the recent victory of your party in the Delta Central Senatorial Bye-election which held on October 12, 2013?
The recent victory of the Peoples Democratic Party in the senatorial bye-election is due to so many factors. As you can testify to, it was a landslide victory. A lot of the key players in the PDP, before now, out of frustration and anger, left the PDP to work with the opposition. In 2007, I was a member of the PDP Presidential Campaign Team that brought to power the Late President Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan as Vice President. But I later left the party and joined the opposition when some of us saw that issues were not being properly addressed to accommodate the interests of those who laboured seriously to propel the party to victory in all the 2007 polls. However, before the recent election, the State Governor, His Excellency, Dr Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan took time off his busy schedules to visit as many aggrieved PDP members across Delta central with a passionate appeal for them to return to the PDP. The Honourable Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Richard Mofe Damijo, for instance was also instrumental to a lot of the earth-quaking movements back to the PDP. The Governor gave a personal touch to the various contacts to woo the aggrieved PDP members back to the party. And above all, we also felt that it was more profitable to our people to be in the mainstream or ruling political party than to be in the opposition. Having tasted what it was to be in the opposition, a very good number of us heeded the clarion call to return to the PDP. This development, no doubt, triggered a lot of changes in political calculations as we, the leaders, left the oppositions with thousands of our followers and well wishers. It was the massive return back to the PDP and very serious campaigns through the length and breadth of the senatorial district coupled with the presentation of a very credible candidate in the person of Senator Emmanuel Edesiri Aguariavwodo that triggered the landslide victory.
The Governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan from my personal observation has recently demonstrated renewed effort at transforming the State. Do you agree with this observation and could this also have contributed to the impressive outing of the party in the bye-election?
I quite agree wholesomely with you on that. Before now, the Governor has been doing a lot of work to move the state forward. You know that to be true. There is no time anybody in the opposition will sing the praise of a performing Governor. Speaking as a strong PDP stalwart today, I can easily testify to the fact that the Governor has done a lot of transformation of the State. The beautiful work at Enerhen Junction is a very strong case in point. The transformation of that spot, if it were not in practical terms but just a mere prototype that was displayed in newspapers, it would have been dismissed by all as a moonlight tale with no hope of being realised. Today, Enerhen junction has been transformed and anybody who travelled say two years ago and return today, will not believe his eyes. In fact, he is bound to argue that he is in another world. That is the handwork of a Governor who has his people at heart. All the terrible traffic situations at Enerhen junction is now a thing of the past as all you do is to wait for the traffic light to turn green for you to move on. That is a beautiful place to behold. The Delta Leisure Park, a holiday resort in Oleri, Udu LGA is another giant project which the State Government has attracted to Delta State. The project is being undertaken by Saner PFN, a consortium of world-class corporate organisations which is transforming the little village of Oleri into a modern city with the presence of this project. The multiplier effect of this project to the economy of the area cannot be over-emphasized. Dr Uduaghan is doing great things in Udu and we have every reason to thank him. He has demonstrated that he indeed is a man of his words.
In what other areas do you expect the Governor to intervene or address to bring more development to Udu and Aladja?
That is a very good question. Dr Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan should not stop the good work he is doing at Enerhen junction on that spot. That project should be extended to other parts of Udu. Even the activities of pick pockets have been reduced to the barest minimum as a result of the street light at Enerhen junction. In fact, the Governor should push the dualisation and beautification of the road through Udu road to what is called Express Junction, then to Aladja. That is a very strategic way of accelerating economic growth in the area. The point being made here for emphasis sake is that the beautiful work at Enerhen junction should run through the entire length of Udu road to Aladja. Later, the road dualisation should also be extended to ECN junction through Otor-Udu/ Otu-jeremi junctions. Other roads in Aladja and Udu in general should also receieve the government attaention.
Now back to the senatorial bye-election, the oppositions have complained severally that the election was rigged and that a lot of irregularities trailed the electoral process. What is your take on this allegation?
If you have been following all elections in this country, you will understand that there has never been a time a loser in election will say that elections are free and fair. The opposition must complain like you said but that does not in any way suggest that PDP did not win strongly. The election was very free and fair. The secret behind the landslide victory has been highlighted earlier. All those who left the PDP in 2010 and 2011 came back to the fold before the bye-election. House of Representatives and House of Assembly members came back. So what are we talking about? We also felt, particularly in the interest of Urhobo political development, that we must belong to the ruling party. There was no other magic than the personal touch of the Governor and the determination of PDP to deliver the candidate in the overall interest of the Urhobo nation.
What are the expectations of the people from the Senator?
Our expectation from Senator Aguariavwodo is that among other things, he must address the state of DSC. As an Udu man, I would want him to give priority to the revitalization of the Steel Company so that it can come back to life and also give life to the workers and boost the economy of the area. The company has been moribund for many years. We also want him to make sure our people have a feel of the National Cake by ensuring that our qualified children are given Federal employment and appointments. Those who have laboured to ensure we won should also be considered for contracts award. As a matter of fact, Udu LGA, who gave him the highest number of votes in the election should also benefit maximally from him.
If you are in a position to advise the Governor, that is, if you are close to him, what area would you advise him to direct his attention to apart from the issues of road you earlier mentioned?
We all know that there cannot be any progress and meaningful development in the atmosphere of insecurity, chaos and lawlessness. First and foremost, there are pockets of misunderstanding and quarrels among some communities in the area. The Governor should address them by setting up committees to look into them. He must broker peace among our communities to ensure there is harmony and understanding among them. The Governor should also establish industries to provide employment to our teeming youths. On the Aladja and Ogbe-ijoh land disputes, we are confident the State Governor is working to nib the matter in the bud and we don’t entertain any fear. His Excellency is a man of truth and the truth will prevail at the end of the day.
What is the possibility of Delta Central or the Urhobo people producing the next Governor of Delta State in 2015!
Politics is a game of numbers. Urhobos are in majority as far as Delta State is concerned. But again, there is usually give and take. By 2015, when we get to that bridge, we will cross it.
On 2015 and the emergence of a group which styled itself as new PDP with a singular mission to check President Jonathan’s second term bid, what do you think the likely outcome will be?
Something I know that is peculiar to PDP is that the party comes out of every crisis stronger and more united. What we have now is one PDP. There is nothing like new PDP. Come 2015, PDP will deliver Goodluck Jonathan for President. He will have even more votes than he had in 2011. That is what I can assure you of. Jonathan is our candidate and he will be returned as President in 2015. All the threats from the All Progressives Congress will amount to nothing. Recall that a coalition of two or more political parties for the purpose of grabbing power had never worked. If you go down memory lane, you will discover that such coalition has always been a waste of time. The APC alliance, the test case is the senatorial bye-election which they lost woefully. A major challenge before them is the choice of presidential candidate. That will certainly tear them apart. So, APC or no APC, PDP will win in 2015.
What is your advice to the Udu people as we approach 2015?
I want to use this medium to appeal to Udu people to be more united and speak with one voice. Udu has the highest number of votes for the PDP in the bye-election simply because, in the words of the Governor, Udu leaders were united. We took the message to all parts of Udu. We should be united on all fronts with high respect for the Ovie of Udu who is the paramount leader of the Udu people, Ovie in Council and other political leaders/elders.
What is your last word on this session? That is do you have any other thing to say?
What I would say as general advice to all for the purpose of this interview is that the entire Delta State should support the three point agenda of the State government. I also want to appeal to the Governor to pay particular attention to Udu now that the people have totally returned to the PDP. All along, Udu has been in opposition and he has not been happy with Udu. Now that Udu has decided to give maximum support to the party, we expect greater political patronages from the State Governor. The Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh land dispute should be resolved once and for all to save the communities from further acrimony. Now that the people of Aladja in particular and Udu in general have totally embraced the PDP, we expect greater attention from the state government. Government should look into the issue of Udu harbour market with a view to completing it within the present tenure.
