A socio-political organisation, Concerned Anioma Patriots, CAP, has called on a former Minister of Defence and chieftain of the People Democratic Party, Chief Chris Agbobu, to apologise to his kinsmen from Delta North for the party’s involvement in the under-developing the region for the past 17 years.
The organisation was reacting to the comments by the ex-minister over the state of affairs in Delta State under PDP.
A senior citizen of Anioma, Chief Hyacinth Enuha, had accused the administration of governor Ifeanyi Okowa, of worsening the condition of Delta North which is his (Okowa’s) Senatorial District, to which Agbobu had responded, using abusive language to defend PDP.
But the CAP in a statement by its Chairman, Smart Ajaja; General Secretary, Martin Nwaokobia and Public Relations Officer, Fusia Ofuasia, issued on Sunday in Abuja, insisted that Okowa’s regime has underdeveloped Delta North more than the governments of James Onanefe Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan.
“It is common knowledge that PDP underdeveloped Delta state. Well meaning Deltans are joining forces in the state. It will no longer be business as usual. The opposition in Delta state will do its job of holding the Delta state government constructively accountable as Chief Enuha has done.
“For defending the indefensible, speaking against an obvious truth made by Enuha and dishing out falsehood to remain relevant, Chief Chris Agbobu, should apologise to Anioma people (Delta North) as his utterances are not what should be expected of a man of his age.
“Chief Enuha is a noble man, brave and courageous. It takes honour and strength of character for a man to walk away from PDP in its good days when they held sway over the nation and mercilessly, at his state level, shared the revenue that accrued to all Deltans among themselves.
“A look at Asaba, Warri and Ughelli, would easily confirm the observations of Chief Enuha, who had observed that Okowa’s administration was a total disappointment, a ridicule and an outright disgrace to the Anioma nation.
“Rightly, so as many Anioma people clamoured for an Anioma born governor, hoping that such a one, would make a difference in the lives of Deltans. There are no signs that this would be the case.
“If beggars believe that at a time, PDP is apologising to Nigerians for ruining the nation, Chief Chris Agbobu of Delta state PDP and a former Minister of Defence has chosen the path of a lap dog at his age. What people do, especially as elder statesmen is to declare the truth. But not for Chief Agbobu.”
The group accused him of shirking his responsibilities to not only his local government, Aniocha South, but also to Anioma nation and the whole of Delta state by taking a swipe at the well respected Chief Hyacinth Enuha “who merely exercised his rights to free speech by holding to account the lack-lustre government in Delta.”
The organisation also said that Deltans have been disappointed at the level of performance of Okowa’s administration.
“They (Deltans) are also alleging that the only shuffle in governor Okowa’s government, can be seen only in his Ika North East LGA, where, again it is being alleged that he is using state funds to implement constituency projects he was paid for, when he was a Senator.
“There is hardship everywhere and Deltans understand the situation facing them. Deltans understand what Okowa inherited at the state level, what President Muhammadu Buhari inherited in a higher proportion at the national level. The difference here is that Okowa has been part of the decay in Delta State.”
While attributing the backwardness of Delta State to corruption, the group said Deltans have been in shock over the position of Okowa on corruption.
The CAP said, “Had Chief Agbobu, a nominal member of the Okowa appointed 30-man Advisory/Peace Building Council stopped with Chief Enuha, his rant would not have merited a response.
“But it seems his amnesia needs some doses of the truth pill to awaken him and jag him to reality. Like that, he will realise that as a member of this committee, his role is at par with that of an attack dog.
“Forgetting so soon and reaching out to castigate the government of President Buhari that is busy, clearing and cleaning the mess left by Agbobu’s PDP is to say the least, abhorrent. In 2003, four years into the reign of PDP, Chief Agbobu decried the dilapidated facilities at the Nigerian Navy.
“What did you do about it (as Defense Minister)? Nothing, we dare say. Buhari is fixing that dilapidation you spoke about, 13 years ago.”
Follow Us
