Showing posts with label delta state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label delta state. Show all posts

Thursday, November 20, 2014

GOV UDUAGAN FAILED THE ITSEKIRI PEOPLE (STATE OF THE ITSEKIRI NATION)

6th November, 2014

His Excellency,
Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan,
Executive Governor of Delta State,
Government House,
Asaba.

Your Excellency,

RE: STATE OF THE ITSEKIRI NATION UNDER YOUR GOVERNORSHIP

After several fruitless efforts to have an audience with you on matters affecting the Itsekiri Nation, we were compelled to write you a private letter titled, “State of the Itsekiri Nation under your Governorship” on 12th December, 2013.  

2. In the letter, we raised some issues which were dear to the Itsekiri nation and sought your intervention on them. Unfortunately, the issues have remained unattended to and with your tenure running to an end, we feel morally and duty-bound not only to remind you of the general dissatisfaction of Itsekiri people of your contribution to their progress and development, but more importantly to further reveal your known attitude on some matters which affect Itsekiri. History will not forgive us if we do not speak out now.


3. Some of the issues raised in the letter under reference which you did not respond to are still germane and are here listed below:

4. TRANS ODE-ITSEKIRI ROAD
This road was conceived by the James Ibori administration. The road was billed to link Warri metropolis with Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri) and its adjourning communities. It was to take-off from Ubeji through Ifie town and across the Warri River to Ugbodede, Orugbo and terminate at Ode-Itsekiri with connecting roads to Ajigba, Inorin and Usele Communities.

5. Today what was supposed to be a laudable project and a rebirth for the Itsekiri nation is now seen as little works done from Deeper Life Road, Ubeji in Warri to Matrix Nigeria Limited at Ifie in Warri. Sadly, part of the other connecting roads earlier constructed at Ode-Itsekiri, Inorin, Ajigba and Usele are now failing, even without vehicles plying them yet, due to poor construction work. Apparently, the design and materials used and the quality of work done on the roads, were not meant to withstand the swampy, rain-belt terrain of the area. The major work which is the construction of a bridge across the Warri River to connect Warri through Ifie town to Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri) is yet to commence. Ironically, what now looks like an abandoned bridge will constantly stand out like a sore thumb to remind the Itsekiri of the contribution of your political era to their history vis-à-vis, Chief Festus Okotie Eboh and the Rewanes.

6. UBEJI/REFINERY ROAD:
As you very well know, the Ubeji/Refinery Road is the only access road to thriving Itsekiri communities of Ubeji, Egbokodo, Ifie, Ijala, Omadino, Obodo, Ode-Itsekiri and the adjoining towns/Villages, if the proposed Ode-Itsekiri road becomes a reality. These communities are jointly home to the largest concentration of Itsekiri people anywhere on earth as well as host to major oil and gas projects. It also serves as the only link road to other communities like Jeddo, Ughoton, Egbokodo (Urhobo), etc. That it is the only road that leads to these communities is bad enough, but worst of all, owing to the activities of tankers and heavy vehicles which go to and fro, the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, the Nigerian Gas Company and the private jetties for lifting of refined oil at Ifie, the two-lane-road has become almost impassable for residents of the communities between 6:00am and 11:00pm daily. Without exaggeration, the road is the worst in Nigeria! Indeed, the Ubeji Road is a classical case of failed corporate social responsibility, failed governance as well as government’s insensitivity. There have been cases of people who needed emergency medical attention who lost their lives on the road before they could get to  hospital at either Warri or Ekpan as such journeys on heavy traffic period, could take 6 – 7 hours; a journey that should ordinarily not take more than 15 minutes. Many pregnant women have also been known to deliver babies in the heavy traffic jam.

7. We are aware that a contract for the rehabilitation of part of the road was awarded to a company known as ARC (whatever that means). However, we quickly want to observe that the road as it is now is in such a sorry state that it cannot withstand the heavy vehicles that lift oil from the jetties.

8. EKUREDE ITSEKIRI ROAD:
This is a road that links the Ajamimogha/Okere expressway to the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) by-pass. We observe that a contractor is already constructing the drainage for the purpose of rehabilitating the road. However, we note, strangely, that the exercise has drastically reduced the width of the road from its former four-lanes to two- lanes road. It is now impossible for two cars, driving at opposite directions (with a car properly parked on either side) to pass the road freely. The road, being the one that links two expressways should be a free-flowing 4-lane road. Even then, the poor drainage has rendered many residents homeless due to flooding. Life there was better before the so-called road construction started.

9. KOKO/UGBENU ROAD:
The road is supposed to be a dual-carriage road from Ugbenu on Benin-Sapele-Warri Highway to Koko. Not just that, it is the only access road to the proposed Koko/Ogheye/Lekki Road that will connect many Itsekiri communities like Jakpa, Gbokoda, Tebu, Ajamita, Ogheye and others to the metropolis. Today, not a lane has been completed after nearly six years of construction. As it is common with road projects executed by your Government, some parts of the work done are now failing. The former road which was torn apart for construction work was built by Chief Okotie Eboh in 1965 and it was a delight to drive on and unarguably one of the best roads in Nigeria until you destroyed it. The quality of the work done and the duration of the construction are embarrassment. Worst of all, the contractors are no longer on site, yet the full amount of the contract work has been in every year's budget for the past five to six years. Do we need to remind you of the Koko stadium that also appears in the state's budget every year, yet it has long been abandoned?

10. THE UGBORODO & KOKO FORE SHORE PROTECTION:
The Ugborodo and Koko Fore Shore Protection projects were long ago awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) even before you came in as Governor in 2007. We know that the Contractors have been financially mobilized for the jobs and yet nothing has been done and now the contracts have been abandoned. Recent government audit reports recommended that the contractors should be sanctioned and that, the jobs should be re-awarded to other contractors. Your government could have intervened by calling on NDDC to direct its contractors to be mobilized to site or to re-award the contracts to other contractors and seek appropriate sanctions on the erring contractors. Today, Ugborodo and Koko are suffering from devastating sea erosion, especially, the former which has virtually disappeared beside mighty Chevron.

11. OGHEYE ULTRA MODERN CONCRETE FLOATING MARKET
The Ogheye Market in Warri North Local Government Area is one of the oldest markets in Itsekiri land and has spanned over a hundred years. It was a melting pot for traders from various Itsekiri and Ijaw communities in Warri North and Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State as well as Ilajes from Ondo State. Knowing the importance of this market to the local economy, the Ibori administration awarded a contract for it to be upgraded to an Ultra Modern Concrete Floating Market.

12. The Itsekiri lauded this as the market which would ignite commercial activities in the Benin River axis which came down during the Warri crisis. The market would also encourage some displaced persons now living in Warri and Sapele to return home and fend for themselves. Again, this project has been abandoned by your administration.

13. That is not all, we are also very sad to note that no single school building in Itsekiri communities in Warri North Local Government  Area (your own Local Government  Area), except perhaps only in your village, Abe-Ugborodo, has been built or renovated by your Government in spite of the major renovation work you carried out all over the State. As a result, today, in a reversal, Itsekiri as a people are lagging behind their immediate neighbours in education in terms of infrastructure, enrollment and products.

14. CULTURE OF IMPUNITY IN WARRI TOWN:
Warri Township is an old town founded before 1906 as evidenced by the Leases of 1906, 1908 and 1911 entered into between Itsekiri and British Government Representative. It is indeed, older than Port Harcourt founded in 1914 and even Tel Aviv in Israel founded in 1912. It has a special place in Nigerian history. But sadly, what we see in the town today does not reflect its rich history, tradition and civilization. It has become the city of impunity – it is dirty, with no drainage and its residents are lawless, with illegal structures and caravans, dominating some of the streets. This is due to the inability of government to enforce the applicable laws as it is done elsewhere. It was only recently that the Delta State Government embarked on demolition of illegal structures to make the state cleaner (and we know why). Beyond the demolition, nothing happened. Warri is still as dirty as it was and the illegal structures and caravans are back again.

15. Warri still remains the only major town in Nigeria where public roads are blocked for ceremonies – ranging from burials to marriage parties.

16. WARRI/UVWIE BOUNDARY ISSUE VIS-À-VIS WESTERN REGION OF NIGERIA LEGAL NOTICE (WRNLN) NO. 176 OF 1955:
We heard that the land which Texaco Nigeria Limited is now occupying in Warri is being claimed by Uvwie Local Government Area against both legal and historical facts. We counseled for your Government to take urgent steps to establish the boundary between Warri South Local Government Area and Uvwie Local Government Area vis-à-vis WRNLN No. 176 of 1955.

17. Please recall that this boundary issue was one of the remote causes of the Ekpan and Ubeji crises in 1978 which led to the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry under the Chairmanship of Hon. Justice B. A. Omosun.

18. The Government White Paper on the Commission of Inquiry into the Riots and Clashes between Ekpan and Ubeji Communities known as Official Document No. 2 of 1978 at page 5 stated thus:
“(ii) Recommendation – Physical demarcation of the boundary between Warri Local Government Area and Ethiope Local Government Area using information based on L.N. 28 of 1951 as modified by W.R.L.N. 176 of 1955. The controversial mile post 3/60 on the Warri/Sapele Road is to be re-established by the Ministry of Lands and Housing and the opening up of a road 50feet wide on each side of the centre along the tract where it crosses the Tori Creek undertaken.

Comment – Government is aware of the problem of boundary line between the Warri and Ethiope Local Government Areas. Steps will be taken to establish a permanent demarcation line between the two Local Governments.”

19. Government is yet to implement the recommendation and carry out the undertaking. The pillars of WRLN 176 of 1955 are in situ. Government has to show political will to acknowledge them.


20. TAKING ITSEKIRIS BACK HOME:
As a result of the Warri Crisis, many homes were destroyed and burnt. Many Itsekiris who were dislocated from their homes in the riverine areas moved to Warri, Sapele and other urban cities in Nigeria due to the sacking of their communities and the fear of insecurity. Today, all these villages have been deserted with no specific plans to enable them to return home. Studies show that apart from the sense of insecurity, the major influence that would attract and make the dislocated Itsekiri people return home and keep them in their villages/communities is employment opportunities for them by the establishment of local industries, empowerment or other means of self sustenance. In addition, there must be assurance of security of lives and properties.

21. Itsekiri communities are the leading oil and gas producers in Delta State, they have nothing to show for it. Contracts are awarded, not necessarily for the projects/programmes the people need, but for the financial benefit accruing to political cronies. In nearly all the cases, the projects are either poorly done or abandoned. The common projects are solar lights and boreholes which are awarded at astronomical costs and yet they rarely function. They are nearly all cramped in Warri, Ubeji and Ifie.

22. Your administration in spite of the abundant skills and competence in the state, takes a position where meritocracy has taken flight from the state. Interestingly, the problem of your administration in relation to the Itsekiri is further compounded either intentionally or by omission by the fact that most of your political appointees and imposed “elected” (or selected?) officials lack knowledge of the history, geography, sociology, interest and psychology of the Itsekiri people. You have been satisfied to work almost exclusively with the few Itsekiri you reared and the ones inherited from your cousin, James Ibori.

23. THE 2014 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION
It was with utter dismay and disgust we witnessed the sham, the impunity and the joke, which was passed on as local government elections in Delta State, especially in Warri North, Warri South and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of the State. The elections were not only marred by violence, ballot snatching, ballot stuffing and other irregularities. Many areas witnessed late arrival of voting materials. As a matter of fact, voting did not take place in many Itsekiri communities mostly in Warri North and Warri South-West Local Government Areas, and yet results were declared and those who purportedly won the elections were sworn in less than 48-hours after. We condemn the reprehensible exercise as it does not represent the true spirit of democracy and it is also an affront and rape of the Itsekiri sensibility. The Local Government elections are condemnable and we strongly condemn them.

24. We even find it more disheartening that you could contact Barrister Festus Keyamo on election matters that affect Itsekiri, while you ignored Itsekiri leaders and key stakeholders on such crucial issues. How did Itsekiri come to this?

25. A scenario which witnessed the substitution of Hon. Oritseweyinmi Omadeli (an Itsekiri) as PDP Chairmanship Candidate for Warri South-West Local Government Area by Hon. George Ekpemupolo, (an Ijaw) in violation of your own rotational arrangement, less than 48 hours to the election and contrary to the Electoral Law, speaks eloquently of the impunity and the disdain which the Itsekiri have been subjected to in your Administration.

26. Although the process that threw up Hon. Omadeli wasn’t transparent and he couldn’t have been the best material Itsekiri could offer, but having been nominated by the PDP and presented with the party flag, to substitute him with an Ijaw in an ethnically volatile Warri South-West Local Government Area 48 hours before the election is another indication of your contempt for the Itsekiri people. We say without equivocation that Itsekiri has been traded off by you for interest other than our collective one.

27. YOUR POLITICAL JOURNEY AND ITSEKIRI
Your Excellency, we look back with sadness and regrets when in 2007, we presented you to the Isokos where your intention to run for the governorship election was made public for the first time. It was out of love, expectations and hope – being an Itsekiri and with the conviction that your tenure would usher in progress and development in our land, ravaged by communal crisis. We thought we had another Okotie-Eboh in the making in you. Our love and support for you was not less than that of those hanging around you now. If you demand why we have to write you this letter and take this stand: this indeed, is our answer. Not that we love you less, but we love Itsekiri more.

28. Generally, the state and particularly the Itsekiri Nation has not fared well under you in spite of your nearly 16 years in Government. In almost every decision, policy, action or inaction, you have consistently compromised Itsekiri for your personal, political, family or group interests and survival. Over the years, you have overplayed the game of numbers to the detriment of the Itsekiri. Your administration has not only been detrimental to the development of Itsekiri, but has set us back by at least 40 years. What can we today point to as your greatest contribution to the Itsekiri nation after 16 years in Government? Yet you have a desire to further represent Itsekiri interest in the Senate.

29. We have read Festus Keyamo’s letter as published in the Vanguard of 30/10/2014, wherein it was revealed that you consulted him on the trade off of Itsekiri political interest in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State. Did you ever consult Itsekiri leaders on any issue, decision, policy or action before you traded off their political rights in Delta State over the period of your governorship ranging from ward delineation to House of Assembly seats or in any other matter affecting the Itsekiri people? Answer: Total abandonment and neglect of Jakpa/Bateren/Bobi/Deghele Sector, Ugborodo Sector – nowhere, Omadino-Obodo Sector forgotten and Warri metropolis neglect and impunity.

30. The irony of it all is that, in your difficult times particularly during your three election travails, the Itsekiri nation rose up, stood by you and gave you unflinching support beyond the ordinary. How have you repaid the Itsekiri? Could your payback be the era of violence of Itsekiri against Itsekiri that your administration has introduced? Could it be the lawlessness, impunity, imposition, lack of respect for constituted authorities, greed, wickedness, cheating and break-down of the age-long traditions, customs and culture of the Itsekiri which your administration and some of your disciples have introduced into Itsekiri nation? Could it be the non-existence of, dilapidated or collapsed infrastructure and amenities in Itsekiri communities? Could it be your well known agenda to impose unpopular and failed political boys on the Itsekiri people both in the State and National Assemblies? Could it be your ambition to contest the senatorial seat zoned to the Itsekiri that has made you trade off Itsekiri political rights in the face of your monumental failure in the eyes of the Itsekiri people? In the face of all these, we decline to give our support to your alleged senatorial ambition.

31. Our observation clearly shows that the Itsekiri nation has been taking for granted for so long because of the philosophy of "otene ren or omere ene ren, a jutsi" (He is our son or bother, leave him alone).  For us it is now too late for you to make amends. You have missed the boat.

32. Your Excellency, our expectation was that you would create a platform where we could discuss these matters with you face-to-face to enable us hear directly from you, take the appropriate early steps you intend to take to implement the above plans/proposals, which we honestly and strongly believe would have enhanced and strengthened your legacy as the Governor of Delta State. Unfortunately, this has not been possible since we are apolitical and perhaps, think we are of no electoral benefit to you. As God would have it power is transient. As they say on the streets of Warri: "soldier go, soldier come, barrack remain".

33. We have sent this letter to you not with the intention that anything significant can still be done or that you would make amends within the short time you have left in Government, but to inform you that we intend to publish it for posterity.

34. We are also aware that as usual, on the receipt of                                     mm
this letter or its publication in the national dailies, you will, unwisely, unleash your “goons” and “foot soldiers” on us; we are not afraid of that. Itsekiri interest is our primary driving force.

35. We have done no more to you than Itsekiri shall do to us if and when we sacrifice the collective interest of Itsekiri for personal political gain.

Signed for and on behalf of the
Committee of Itsekiri Leaders of Thought



Saturday, July 12, 2014

Delta PDP Chairman, Youths, Beat Up Former PDP National Chairman's Wife

"I sprang up from my seat in defense and immediately, over a hundred youths gathered and started attacking me, and tore my clothes,” - Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali, wife of former PDP national chairman.

Decorum was said to have been thrown into the wind Friday, when the Delta State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and youths suspected to be loyal to the party chairman, allegedly in broad day light beat up and tore the clothes off the wife of the former PDP national chairman, Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali.
The show of shame occurred when the State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, had waited to come and perform the formal commissioning of the newly built state secretariat of the party. It was a presentation of vehicles to the 25 local government party chairmen in the state.
A SaharaReporters correspondent learned that trouble started at the state party secretariat following a heated argument between the state party chairman, and the wife of the former PDP national chairman. It was all over a seat.
In recalling her ordeal, the wife of the former PDP national chairman, Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali, alleged that as a Board of Trustee member of the party, she had been, on several occasions, ‘sidelined’ by the state party chairman and others.
According to Nneamaka Ali, “A PDP stakeholder meeting was held in Abuja and as a Board member member, I was deliberately not invited and just today, another stakeholder meeting was held at the state party secretariat. The same time the same thing happened, I was not informed until someone called me that since I am in town, it will be nice and wise for me to attend, and I went.
On arrival, I saw two vacant seats besides the former deputy governor, Chief Benjamin Elue, and the speaker, Mr. Peter Onwusanya. I quietly seated [myself] and immediately, to my surprise, the MC of the ceremony publicly announced that where I was seated was not meant for me,” she said.
“As that was happening, the state party chairman, Peter Nwaoboshi, was called to the scene, and walked up to me, and asked me to stand up from the seat. And before anyone could say, ‘Jack Robinson,’ he gave me several severe slaps on my face, and started fighting me, and I sprang up from my seat in defense and immediately, over a hundred youths gathered and started attacking me, and tore my clothes,” she stated angrily in recalling her ordeal.Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali's Torn ClothesMrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali's torn clothes
Also recalling the incident in the same vein, a former political assistant to the state governor and PDP stalwart, Mr. Okocha Victor, who corroborated Mrs. Ali’s statement, stated that what actually took place today shows that ‘the wife of the former PDP national chairman was ganged-up on,’ and made to be humiliated. He said before now, there was a congress and the party local chairman, the speaker and the state party chairman, Peter Nwaoboshi, manipulated the local government party list.  He removed the duly elected executive members after allegedly forging the party’s national legal adviser and signature.
Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali's torn clothesMrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali's torn clothes“She was manhandled, humiliated and pushed away. Her gold necklace and other valuables werelost in the process. Chief Solomon Obga, the speaker, former deputy governor, and others, were there but nobody could do anything. Nwaoboshi forgot so soon how he was brought from the trenches, and made what he is today by the same woman he has fought. This was the same woman who made him that he is fighting because of his tall ambition that he will never achieve,” Okocha Victor said.
“This was same Nwaoboshi who was given N60million, by the then PDP national chairman, Bamaga Turku, to dispose to the local government party chairmen, and he ‘seized the money’ till date. He has a penchant of collecting money from people, and the good people of Delta North will never have such a dubious character as a senator representing them come 2015,” Okocha Victor added with anger in his voice.
Giving his own side of the story, the state party chairman, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, debunked the allegations of anyone, including himself, fighting the wife of the former PDP national chairman, Dr Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali.
According to Nwaoboshi, “She was the one who attacked me, tore my shirt, and slapped me twice. She went and sat on the chair reserved for the state deputy governor, and the security agents approached her to look for somewhere else to sit, and she ‘flared up,’ saying she is a member of Board, and who is the deputy governor. All efforts to pacify her failed, and she walked up to me and Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali's torn clothesMrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali's torn clothesasked me if I knew she is a member of Board. I told her that I don’t know if she is a member of the BOT by my records. And the next thing I saw was a slap on my face, twice, and  she tore my shirt.
People were there, persons like the former deputy governor, the 25 local government party chairmen, security agents were all there, to confirm what I have just told you. Despite the provocation, I did not retaliate. Even when she slapped me twice, and tore my shirt to shreds. She could have been lynched if not for my intervention and the elders of the party,” Nwaoboshi stated.

Monday, January 14, 2013

POLICE RAIDS RITUALISTS DEN IN ASABA DELTA STATE, UNCOVERS CORPSES OF UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN


Police detectives in Asaba, the Delta State capital have uncovered a hideout/operational base of suspected ritualists with scores of unidentified corpses of women.

The police command spokesman, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Famous Ajieh, said the detectives acted on a tip-off to swoop on the suspects in their operational base in Okpanam village where four of them were arrested. The Police, he said, found scores of mutilated and decomposed bodies of women.
It was learnt that the replacement of commercial motor cycles with tricycles popularly known as “Keke” had led to the influx of suspected ritualists who use the new means of transportation to charm unsuspecting passengers and take them to the hideouts where they are allegedly killed with vital parts of their bodies removed.
Leadership Sunday gathered that activities of the ritualists increased during the Yuletide in Asaba and its environs when they caught a pregnant woman on her way to church service along Nnebisi Road and allegedly hypnotised her.
They allegedly took her to their hideout where she met other persons being held by the suspects.
But through divine intervention, she was said to have been pushed away when it was her turn to face the ritual exercise.
Police sources however, confirmed that four persons were arrested including their kingpin identified as Simeon (surname withheld), who upon interrogation confessed to the gang’s atrocities while three others are on the run.
Ritual activities allegedly thrive in Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, Ubulu-Uku and Okpanam.
While warning passengers to be wary of the operators of the “Keke,” Ajieh said their activities had been placed under serious surveillance.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Deltans Thank Uk Judiciary Over 13 Years Sentence For ‘Petty Thief’ James Onanafe Ibori


Members of a group, Liberate – Delta Peoples Movement, representing over 15,000 citizens of Delta State across the world; have today selected out the UK Judiciary for special thanks, following the extradition, trial, guilty plea and sentencing of the former Governor of the State, James Onanefe Ibori to 13 years in prison for embezzling the State’s funds and laundering it in the United kingdom.  The sentencing was reported live on the group’s facebook page, followed by thousands of Deltans across the world.  There was an explosion of emotions on the Breaking News that the judge had pronounced a 13 years sentence, achieving what the Nigerian Judiciary had failed woefully to achieve.

Liberate has written to the UK Crown Prosecution Service, the Metropolitan Police and the Department for International Development for their commitment to tackling corruption in Nigeria and ensuring that the UK was no longer a safe haven for corrupt leaders who neglect their duty to create opportunities for the people and instead, extract as much money as they can for themselves, their families and friends.  They have also expressed grave disappointment with the Nigerian Judiciary and the broader Nigerian government for their failure to bring Ibori to justice after so many years of looting the State treasury and setting the State on a path of prolonged decline.  The group’s spokesman, Mr Cadre Drake said that:

“Ibori’s crimes were not a simple case of theft, they were crimes against the people of Delta State who have been robbed of their chance to build much needed infrastructure, and develop employment for the youths.  His victims are numerous.  However, Ibori did not act alone, he was aided by others who are known to the authorities; they must now be brought to justice too”.

The Group has today called for the following:

1. The Delta State House of Assembly should hold an emergency session to discuss the implications of the sentence for the State, in particular, the failure of Uduaghan to carry-out an audit of the States accounts so that the fraud Ibori pleaded guilty to can be identified.

2. Failing that they should all consider their positions and resign with immediate effect

3. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, cousin and protégé of Ibori should resign as governor of Delta State with immediate effect for his complicity in the looting of Delta State funds and his failure to carry out an audit of the State’s finances.

4. Amos Utuama, Deputy Governor of Delta State should resign with immediate effect for aiding and abetting Ibori in the looting of Delta State Treasury

5. Justice Marcel Awokulehin, Federal High Court Asaba should resign with immediate effect for failure to act in accordance with the rule of law and in the interest of justice, acquitting Ibori of 170 counts of corruption charges thereby bringing the Nigerian Judiciary and the nation into disrepute

6. John Fashanu should be dismissed by the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, as a Sports Ambassador for Nigeria for bringing Nigerian Sport and our nation into disrepute, acting as a character witness for Ibori and peddling blatant lies about how Ibori had revolutionised sports in Delta State.

7. That James Onanefe Ibori having been convicted of a fraud in the United Kingdom prior to becoming a Governor had obtained that position fraudulently and should be stricken off the public records.  The constitution of Nigeria states clearly in section 182. (1) (d) that an individual cannot stand as governor if “he is under a sentence of death imposed by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or any other offence imposed on him by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal”  As it has been clarified by the UK courts that Ibori was indeed a convict, the President of Nigeria, the National House of Assembly and the Delta State House of Assembly must work from the same hymn sheet in ensuring the Ibori’s name is stricken from the public records such that he was never a Governor; and that all benefits to which he is entitled as an Ex-governor be stopped with effect from the date he pleaded guilty.  If possible, that he should be asked to refund all salaries earned during his period of Governorship.

Deltans do not have any faith or confidence in the current Governor, Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan given his apparent involvement in the Ibori criminal enterprise and his ongoing inability to introduce good governance, transparency and accountability to the State.  IN this regard, Liberate – Delta People’s Movement have committed to fight the repatriation of confiscated proceeds of Ibori’s crimes back to the Delta State Treasury.  Liberate will be writing to the UK authorities to make representations that the funds be held in Trust until such a time as a Governor, duly elected by the people and enjoying their trust and confidence is in place.

------

END

LIBERATE was established in 2011 with the following declaration, 

“The people of Delta State hereby proclaim their right to freedom, security, justice and good governance.  We proclaim our opposition to corruption, nepotism and autocracy.  We have suffered enough.  Delta must be FREE.  We make a solemn commitment to prosperity for all - one Delta, one People, one Future.  Arise!”   The group now has more than 15,200 members.

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