We Will Support Your Chapel, Ukwuani Council Boss Assures Oasis Magazine

Promises To Tackle Insecurity, Pay Attention To Youth Development, Women Empowerment

By Daniel Dafe

Chairman of Ukwuani Local Government Area in Delta State, Hon. (Barr.) Possible Ajede has promised to support Oasis Magazine Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ.

Ajede said this on Thursday when he received members of the chapel in his office at Obiaruku during a courtesy visit.

He said: “The fact is that we have had a very peaceful and cordial relationship right from the first term I was voted into office to chair the Ukwuani people and I do know that in my last administration, Oasis Magazine was with me throughout the struggle of trying to provide good government for the people of Ukwuani Local Government.”

Responding to the request by the visitors for greater partnership, he said: “Oasis Magazine is already part of this administration under my watch. I must first of all pause to congratulate you and the team for this amiable height you people have been able to attain with the new chapel.”

He continued: “Oasis Magazine is part of us and when I came back in my second tenure, you remember, I recall that we had this little discussion and I said this time around I intend to form stronger ties with your organisation so that we can come up with some areas of concern and interest we can pull through together.

“So, I can assure you that of the issue of partnership here in Ukwuani, we are with you 100 percent and we also seek to look at areas that you identify that we can further strengthen apart from news reporting.”

Adding: “I want to reaffirm that position that it is imperative that we try to look and identify those areas of interest so that we can be able to build on them.

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Speaking further, he said: “It is incumbent on us to see how we can be able to do more, like the agenda says; try to improve on all aspects of our existence here and I will like also to put on record that in improving our existence in Ukwuani, we are trying to see how we can put all records clean, clear and credible for Ukwuani people to look at even after we have gone. Like you rightly portrayed for public officers, some of us miss the reason why we are elected into office.”

He assured that his administration will priotise the issue of external and internal security.

His words: “You will recall that in my first tenure, we partnered with Ethiope East council to coordinate the issues of herders’ attacks on our farmers. This time around we have not been able to also work out that synergy, but we are still talking. Only two days ago, we came back from Abuja where we went to meet the Senate Committee on boundary and borders issue/border town around the country and internal boundary between states and we are also happy to announce the assurance the Senate Committee gave to us that before the end of the year they would have provided for adequately for the Boundary Commission to move in to come and demarcate Delta Ethiope, to enable us have a clear base line so that we can know where belongs to Edo state and where belongs to Delta state. So, that has being the major issue and I am very happy that we were able to extract a concrete promise from the Senate Committee who presided over that event and I also want to put it on record that this milestone we have achieved did not start just this week we went for that seminar.

“We have also coordinated visits under the headship of the Deputy Governor to Abuja where His Excellency made a full presentation on behalf of His Excellency, the governor on the position of boundaries within Delta. Because I am from this side, even when I speak generally, I must come back to Edo Delta where I’m now presiding over as the council chairman. So, we did those presentation and it was reflected when we went for this meeting. We are taking the items one after the other. I am only dwelling on the area of security and issues incidented thereto.”

Meanwhile, he promised to also pay attention to youth development and women empowerment.

“This time around I told my people that in the aspect of youth development, we must take some proactive steps. We must move out from the ordinary. We must try to think outside the box, not the regular thing because if you keep on repeating a particular strategy year in, year out and you look at the progresses made, if it is not enough, you need to change the approach. Now we are trying to see how we can be able to push our youths mentally and then also try to coordinate them around ICT because ICT is ruling the world now. So that when they are talking of people from India, they should be able to mention people from Ukwuani and that is the direction we are going to.

“Then our women, of course our mothers, if you also abandon them, a lot of them are into agriculture and we said that there is no way we can run this government without looking at agriculture. The law allows that enough investment should be made in the area of agriculture. Now we are building farm claws round the twenty wards of Ukwuani. The essence of the farm claws is to be able to provide for private consumption and little they can also send out for the market. Of course you know that Obiaruku is a hub. We have a market that hosts almost people from Warri area down to Asaba; they come here to buy garri and that is our mainstay and we are trying to expand that area, so we are doing a lot here you know.”

According to him, he has a lot of star projects to consider, saying “the news of financial autonomy for councils is what is in the air now just as he said: “But as I speak to you, we have not being able to have that impact here because it has not commenced effectively.”

“We hear that they have a period of 90 days to implement; sometime around October or so and then as soon as it begins, we will be able to see some of the indices,” he added.

He revealed that having served in the formal administration with Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa and later Elder Sheriff Oborevwori, what gets to the council is not being tampered with by the state government.

Further, he said: “We have had governors who have the interest of the people at heart and so they release the funds. Sometimes they go extra mile to augment what we have. Just in the last meeting we had with His Excellency, he decided to say since the issue of the financial autonomy is coming into fruition, he had to withdraw about one hundred and something million naira he used in augmenting payment for local government and that has been withdrawn by His Excellency.”

He said that local government autonomy may put some local government in a tight corner, adding that he is already looking for ways to internally generate funds so that they can put together what is coming from FAAC to what they generate and be able to achieve success.

Earlier, in his address, Comrade Daniel Umukoro, Chairman, Caretaker Committee, Oasis Chapel, noted that the chapel is the second chapel in the state to be inaugurated that is made up of only reporters and correspondents of the same media house.

The others he said are Truth Chapel in Asaba and Fresh Angle Chapel in Warri,” saying Delta NUJ Council is now made up of a total of 18 NUJ chapels.

In his words, “we are here to introduce the new chapel to you and find ways we can strike some deals that will benefit your administration, Oasis Magazine and Oasis Magazine chapel.”

“We applaud your ‘Do More Agenda’ and there is no doubt that you performed well in your first term. Like they say, ‘one good turn deserves another’. You have gotten a second term and we are hopeful that you will break the records in your first term and set new records in your second term especially with the newly signed Local Government Autonomy.”

The chapel urged the council boss to continue to stand for what is right and put smiles on the faces of his people.

“One of the problems in Nigeria is that we have too many political office holders who forget to acknowledge that once you get a political office, it should be used to impact the people you lead by providing good leadership and good governance,” he opined.

“We wish you well as you pilot the affairs of this council in the next three years. Feel free to call us whenever the need arises and we will be there to give you all the needed support,” he said.