Uvwie was agog on Tuesday(2/3/2021) as the Unuevworo of Ekpan, Chief Peters Udubrekpe Iffie led his people to welcome and celebrate Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa as he commissioned the Refinery access link road in the community amongst other projects in the state
Speaking on the occasion, the Unuevworo of Ohore and Secretary, Uvwie Traditional Council, Chief Dr. Samuel Eshenake, who represented HRM Emmanuel Sideso, JP. OON, Abe 1, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom commended Gov. Okowa for his numerous projects in Uvwie Local government council noting particularly the speed with which the new Technical College at Effurun was being executed describing the governor as “promise keeper”
Chief Eshenake on behalf of the Uvwie Monarch also thanked the governor for his contribution of N5million annually to the Uvwie Education fund which had successfully provided scholarship for over 200 students including a pilot.
He however appealed to the governor to take another look at the abandon Ekpan mother and child care hospital which has been abandoned in the last eight years, the secondary school at Nigercat area presently occupied by criminal elements as well as the Ohore secondary school where two teachers were kidnapped recently.
The Unuevworo of Ekpan, Chief Iffie in an interview noted that no governor has done more roads than the current Okowa administration describing him as a god-sent governor for the people of Uvwie
Speaking before the commissioning of the project, Gov. Okowa promised to take at some of the abandon projects in Uvwie, particularly, the Mother and child care hospital and the secondary schools adding to education was at the heart of his programmes.
He disclosed that the new Technical College in Effurun, under construction, would be completed in June, 2021 while academic work in the school would commence before the end of the year.
Gov. Okowa appealed to Uvwie, Ubeji and other residents of the state to remain peaceful assuring them that no part of the state would be abandoned in terms of development and empowerment.
Also Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa who cut the tape, thanked governor Okowa for his infrastructure drive in the state.
“There is a saying that if you do not want to build schools, be prepared to build prisons. Delta rather than building prisons has chosen to build schools,” Diri said.
He described Okowa as the pride of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a promise keeper and urged him not to relent in endearing himself to Deltans with his human capital and infrastructural development.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Works, Chief James Augoye, had said that since the present administration came into office, contracts for 452 road projects had been awarded with 282 completed and others nearing completion.
He lauded the two contractors for the road projects for adhering to contractual agreements and pledged government’s readiness to patronising competent contractors.
At Ighogbadu Secondary School, which was established and constructed with state-of-the-art educational facilities by the Okowa-led administration, the governor said that he was as excited as the people of Okere-Urhobo kingdom that his administration was able to deliver the gigantic edifice.
He disclosed that the new school would, no doubt, impact positively on the immediate community, adding that it would save children in the area the pain of having to trek very long distances to access secondary education.
The governor urged the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education to liaise with the community with a view to finding a space for the government to construct additional five-classroom block in the school to address the increasing number of students enrolment in the area.
He said that no amount of money or time spent on providing infrastructure for children in the state would be too much, and reassured the community that the state government was ready and prepared to increase the number of classrooms to enable children in the area to have a befitting place to learn.
“I am as excited as the people of Okere-Urhobo that we have been able to deliver on this project. Very importantly, when it is going to impact on the immediate community and it will save our children the pain of having to trek very long distances to access secondary.
“A request was made for the establishment of the school. We have been able to achieve this (establish the school). Now we are going to have another problem which has to do with inadequacy of the number of classrooms that will careter for the number of enrolment.
“I hope and praye that the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education will be able to work with the community to find a space for us to construct extra five class room block to take care of the education of our people.
“There is no amount of money or time spent on providing infrastructure for our children that will be too much. I want to reassure the community that we are ready and prepared to increase the number of classrooms to enable our children to have a befitting place to learn.
“I also thank the entire community for being very peaceful. Because of the peace that you have provided, it has become much easier for us to provide the enabling infrastructure and we are truly very happy with the community,” he said.
Okowa added that he was glad that the Monarch of Okere-Urhobo took record that his administration had constructed 29 roads in the domain, saying “I wouldn’t have known at all but we thank God that He (God) has given us the opportunity to do so.
“We want to promise you that we will continue to do more in the next two years that we still have in office.
“Our goal is to do the best we can for our people and to leave a solid foundation for the next administration that will come after us.
“But it is important that we are able to leave a foundation that they can build upon, a foundation that will create hope, a foundation that any administration coming after us will have no choice but to continue to build upon.
“I want to assure all Deltans that we are going to remain focused even through the next three years and we will not allow politics to distract us from our work.
“We will continue partnership with the community because we need their partnership in order to be able to deliver on the promises that we had made and we urged them to continue to pray for us.”
He thanked Governor Diri for finding time to come to Delta to inaugurate the projects. The governor also thanked members of the community for being very peaceful, adding that it was because of the peace that they had provided that made it much easier for the government to provide the enabling infrastructure.
Earlier, The Orosuen of Okere-Urhobo Kingdom, HRM, Emmanuel Okumagba, had thanked the Governor for transforming the area saying that not less than 29 internal roads have been built in the area within a short time by the Okowa administration.
“Since 1976, we have not seen any body that has matched your developmental strides in this area within the last six years .We now drive on smooth roads along 29 new streets in Okumagba Layout here,” the monarch said.
