Latimore Narrates Ordeal In Okowa’s Government, Considers Quitting, Gives Conditions To Stay

-I Am The One Behind The Media Peace The Governor Enjoys, He Says

-Gives Fejiro Oliver Three Months To Change His Mind About Abandoning DTSG

By Daniel Dafe

The Executive Assistant on Communications to the Delta State Governor, Barrister Fred Latimore, has lamented the treatment meted on him by his principal, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, saying that the Governor is yet to reciprocate the sacrifices he made to support his victory at the polls and that if he eventually resigns, the Governor will find out that he is the brain behind the peace he (Okowa) has enjoyed in the media space.

Latimore took to social media this morning to react to the news that Fejiro Oliver has decided to quit his public reactions activities for the Okowa administration because he has been sidelined.

Latimore spoke to Oasis Magazine (OM) during a telephone conversation.

His words: “I have given Fejiro Oliver three months to change his mind about deciding to walk away from this government. Why I will quit if he doesn’t is because when he starts firing media bullets to this administration, I won’t have the moral justification to reply him. Rather than sit in this government and watch that happen it will be better for me to resign. I won’t respond to his attacks because I have not been treated fairly by my principal.

“What I have so far done for him has not been appreciated and so I am not ready to do any further. So, If Fejiro goes, I go. My situation is worse than his. If I can bear mine and stay why can’t he bear his and stay. For example I have been appointed since last year September till now and I don’t have an office; no official car. Since May 29th, 2019 that the governor was sworn in till now I have not been able to see him face to face. We only speak via Whatsapp and he will reply the messages he likes and ignore the ones he doesn’t like.

“How can I be EA Communications to the governor and not see him face to face. The government is not treating me well at all. It is zero treatment. Well it is understandable because of the way he structured the Media Communications department. He structured it to favour Delta North because the Commissioner for Information is from Delta North. Also, Manager Communications, Director General, Orientation Bureau and the Chief Press Secretary are all also from Delta North. Then EA Communications is from Delta Central. That is 1 to 4. So, I don’t have a voice when decisions are taken.

“I am not using Fejiro Oliver as an excuse to quit. I am just saying he can’t pull out because he is not getting enough money. So if all of us quits who will be in the government. If he leaves I will quit because what I have done so far has not been appreciated and when he starts firing I won’t be able to do any more sacrifices then.

“I report directly to the governor and not anyone else and the one I am supposed to be reporting to can’t be reached. I complained to Hillary 5 months ago that I don’t like the way I have been shut out in this administration. He promised to schedule an appointment with the governor. He didn’t and now he does not pick my calls nor respond to my text messages. Is it not better to resign and go get a job and practice my law? But, I have not quitted. I gave Fejiro three months to change his mind. “

According to him, he has exhausted all internal avenues to be heard but he has been ignored, stressing that “when you complain and they do not answer you what that means is that if you want to go, you can go.”

When asked if he will change his mind peradventure the governor approaches him to address his issues, he said: “The state belongs to all of us. If he approaches me and attend to my issues and address my frustration, then I will have a change of mind.”

He continued: “I lost an appointment as the Chairman of a federal board. That office has an annual budget of 12 Billion Naira and 11 Milliion Naira as impress monthly to run my office. I was entitled to a Prado Jeep and a Hilux with official suite in Transcorp Hilton Hotel and two mobile policemen attached to me. I left all that for Okowa and now I am treated this way.

“He is thinking that the media peace he has enjoyed is as a result of Aniagwu, the Commissioner for Information. Aniagwu is not a media manager. I joined the media since 1985. When I leave now he will understand that I am the one protecting the media space for him.”

Meanwhile, Latimore took to social media this morning to state his ordeal in the Okowa administration, but added that he will be ready to remain till 2023 if Fejiro Oliver, Publisher of Secret Reporters decides to rescind his decision of walking away from the government, adding that they both agreed in 2017 to work with and for Okowa till 2023.

The post titled: ‘Fejiro Oliver: You Go Nowhere, No Responsible Son Abandons His Father Over Quest For Worldly Things’ called on Oliver to change his mind.

The post said: “You are Governor Okowa’s administration and Okowa administration is you. You are both like the teeth and the tongue, nothing must separate you. Yes, I guess you are either joking or negotiating for something bigger as usual.

“You were so powerful to the extent that you could decide who gets what and who gets nothing in this administration, as can be seen from your claims via articles. In the media and communication units of this administration, you also claimed to have decided who to be appointed, who must be appointed and/or reappointed, especially in the second tenure. You came out publicly to say that Fred Latimore, Dantes Odogun and another, will never be reappointed in the second tenure by HE Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.

“It is possible you gave your verdict after a crucial meeting of the kingmakers and the PHD cabal. You have unrestricted access to privileged information for obvious reasons. You may be right because it took four solid months for Latimore’s reappointment to surface. A highly respected clergyman and some top politicians had to intervene. People screamed: “Why the long delay in Latimore’s reappointment if promotion or elevation was not the reason? Why should it take four months to reappoint Latimore as EA Communications long after his colleagues were reappointed and promoted? It was a funny tale of the tail wagging the dog. Lots of questions were flying but deep down we knew that Fejiro Oliver and his “Pull Him Down, PHD,” cabal sat on Latimore’s elevation and reappointment. The signs are still there till this moment. Hmmmm! I just dey laugh in Pakistani local dialect.

“Fejiro, I want to believe that you are still very close to those at the corridors of power in this administration, but there are certain folks whose destinies cannot be thwarted. You may have succeeded in turning away the face of some of our helpers but I tell you the truth; no one, not you, not the PHD cabal have God’s permission to stop His elect’s progress, promotion or elevation. We shall move up higher at the appointed time, one after the other. That’s God’s plan for us and there is certainly nothing a mere mortal can do about it.

“We both (Fred and Fejiro) agreed from the onset in 2017, that we shall be with Governor Okowa, throughout the life span of this administration. I am a promise keeper. Even though I have all the reasons in this world to resign and move on, I am still here trusting God, for things to turn around for the better. I have been systematically isolated by your cabal long before the advent of Covid-19 pandemic, particularly after the commencement of the second tenure of this administration and still counting.

“I am learning new skills about PATIENCE and you too must be PATIENT with your political father, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa. You must not desert your father at this time; no responsible son deserts his father because of worldly things; money, contracts, etcetera. You must not walk away, because if you do, I will be the next to quit. Reason is very simple; I will not have any reasonable justification to join issues with you by the time you start punching and panel beating this administration and governor Okowa, from the opposition.

“We agreed to stay with Okowa and you must keep your promise; money or no money, contract or no contract, juicy appointment or no appointment. Yea, this is the way to go because I have been victimized by your powerful cabal and whereas you have been a powerful member of that same cabal, directly or indirectly. Why complain now? Are you no longer an inner member of the cabal? What went wrong this second tenure, FEJIRO?

“Don’t play on my intelligence and do not remind me of my losses by walking away from this administration just like that. If you do, I will resign so that we can both set the state ablaze from different camps and interests with no one to clean up the mess. This is not empty threat, trust me but I know that very soon you will eat up your vomit after foreseeable exchange of bulk cash and contract files moving from table to table. You may not be able to prove me wrong. After all, this is no morality in politics, it is a game of self interest.

“Pick up your phone and start negotiating right now. I do not want any share of the deal but you need it to stay here till May 29, 2023. I won’t fight unjustly and you cannot fight this administration while I watch with keen interest, NO. I will rather quit for the fight to be interesting for you and for those sponsoring your exit from this government. I trust you will back out sooner than later.

“Don’t walk away, Fejiro my man, we must salvage things together here and not from opposite direction; money or no money, contracts or no contract, juicy appointment or no appointment, official isolation or no isolation, etcetera. I dey laugh! This Okowability union is for better and for worse, till May 29, 2023. No more, no less.

“I hereby give you, Fejiro Oliver – the self acclaimed moral compass of Okowa administration, 90 days to reconcile with your political father and the deceptive PHD cabal or watch me exhibit some new skills. Fejiro, this is not a call for media warfare but a simple reminder; for us to keep promise made in 2017, to stay with Gov Okowa till May 29, 2023. Keep your side of the bargain, for better and for worse. Bravo! One with God, is with Majority.”

Fejiro in an earlier post on social media said he was quitting everything about the government of Okowa.

In a post titled: ‘Governor Ifeanyi Okowa Government – I Quit this day,’ Oliver said the decision was “painstakingly considered and taken, knowing it’s going to likely cause tongues wagging, lead to betrayal, backstabbing as well as punitive measures on people suspected to be close to me.”
He said: “When in 2014 I decided to support Ifeanyi Okowa who was then a Senator, to become the Governor of Delta State, I did it in good faith and made it public knowledge. Prior to then, I had never been involved in the State politics and had no single follower, loyalists or ‘boys’. I did it with great hope for Delta and also for myself. After all, politics is both national and personal interest. The two must go hand in hand and if one fails, it loses its flavor.
“In supporting Okowa, I knew that it was going to be between life and death for me and my family. Either I sink or swim. The situation then was terse and dangerous for the kind of work I decided to do. I remember vividly how I was petitioned before the SSS by a law chamber belonging to a powerful aide of the then governor. Chinonso Dumbili is still alive as he was one of those who drafted the powerful petition that would have sent me out of circulation until I got wind of it and went underground. Nobody else in the campaign team had such experience.
“I still remember then how the current Special Adviser on Political Matter, Solomon Funkekeme who was then Commissioner for Works called me for discussion so I could stop the daily tension I was creating in the political space. As one who follows one way and never betray, I refused. I will not forget the offer that could have changed my life and not even seen me or my family step legs in Nigeria again made if I had gone to Governor’s lodge, Warri, which I refused to honor at the dying minute.

“To me, it was either Okowa as Governor or let the state remain without a governor. Can I forget how we won the primaries, which was the toughest in Delta State political history and may remain so forever, where Raymond Mgbakor made that call telling me “Thank your God say Oga win this primaries else na Pakistan you for run go”. He was right. If Okowa had lost the primaries, I would have been the worst hit cus I would have been a wanted man as well as lost every form of credibility and integrity for being 100% biased as a journalist.
“I do not forget all the discussions, promises from key members of the government who decidesfor the State today on what will happen if we win. Yes, we did win.
“No one will forget that we were mainly three who manned the social media angle, two Ika sons and myself, an Urhobo. Election was won. Of course, I was not expecting appointment as that will cage me from doing my job. Even when the call came to choose a position in the new government, I didnt take it up. There were other plans. SecretReporters was just a blog then, not even a proper news platform. There was no PR firm then. With the victory, we were poised to become an established media outfit. This we did without a single support from the Okowa led government.
“Months flew by and it was obvious that the government of the day had no plans for me or even support the company we newly founded. The other two Ika indigenes who I worked with had already been positioned with one now a multi millionaire and the other an appointee with contracts flowing their way.  Sadly enough, five years after that victory, the story has remained the same. It has become crystal clear that the Okowa government I staked my all for, which could have claimed my life never meant well for me, my business and followers.
“With all modesty and sense of responsibility, 80% of the people who have built mansions all over Asaba, Abuja and Lagos courtesy of patronage and support from the government cannot claim to have done better than us in 2014/2015 that made second term easier to be won.

“It will be foolhardy to remain in a system that has not only become tribalised, but turned its back on its supposed political children and friends. My political followers which the system made me have, have been blackmailed in the State simply because they have chosen to follow me. And in following me, they worked for the government and Governor. Just like me, they have been blackmailed and tagged secret enemy of the State.
“A government where my personal interest and business interest is not protected and encouraged to grow is not a habitat to dwell any longer. It is in this same government that Architect Kester handles the major housing consultancy job in the State, such as the N15.6 billion State Secretariat and the N1.4 billion FRSC training school to be built in Owa Alero as well as many others, yet the same system refuses such for others. It is in this same government that an individual is the sole technical partner and consultant for the technical schools and vocational board in the state. The list remains endless.
“After waiting for five years in vain and knowing that 2023 is just by the corner, I have decided to honorably take a bow from supporting or participating in any form of solidarity to the State government through which ever means. This does not however stop my friendship and support for personal friends in the government. Government will come and go but friendship and relationships will remain. My support for my friends who are Commissioners and other appointees will remain as constant as the Northen Star. The bridge cannot be burnt on the altar of politics.
“I quit this day as a friend of the government that has been used to deceive for five wasted years of hearing “patience”. I cannot be known to be a friend of the system yet seen to be against them. It is against my principle to stay inside a house that I no longer want to live in and then tear down its roof. It is not in my moral upbringing to remain in a place where love has been lost and pretend that all is well when all is obviously not well. It is not in my DNA to smile while with a dagger to stab. I did rather walk away publicly the same way I came publicly and not be the rat biting the foot and same time blowing breeze on it. Honor demand that I take a bow in the open and bid goodbye like I am doing.
“Yes, I wasted five years believing in a system that I thought cared, five years working for a government I thought values relationship, friendship and loyalty, five years staying stuck in a government that abandons it’s own but yet I move.
“Until the right thing is done and truth said accepted without malice, I see no reason calling this government “Our” when it’s actually “their”…. no reason staying back. This is the path I have chosen to follow this day May 29th 2020. So help me God.”