A representative of governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state and Commissioner for Science and Technology, Joyce Overah, was last weekend booed for trying to impress participants and audience at the just concluded ANIO-50 Colloquium held in Asaba, the state capital.
The event which was held at Nelrose Hotel, Asaba, with its theme: “Safeguarding Anioma People and Our Farmland and Repositioning Anioma In a Restructured Nigeria”, decried the increase in the insecurity situation in the state which has led to the raping, killing and deprivation from cultivating on farmlands by the nomadic herdsmen in Anioma land and the state in general.
Okowa’s representative, who was trying to respond to a paper delivered by Professor A. Okodudu, a guest speaker at the event, questioning the government on the master plan of Asaba and the huge resources that have been swallowed by the Asaba downgraded airport, was interrupted by audience and participants who jeered at him.
His said, “Asaba, has a master plan” and immediately an unbearable noise from participants erupted saying, “na lie, Asaba no get master plan”, while others thundered into a loud annoying laughter with booing.
Overah, who doubles as the Dean of Commissioners in the state battled to wade against the noise to continue his speech, “the government is set to truly implement that master plan. The greatest problem we have today which of course goes back to what you are saying, “What will Anioma going to bring on the table if the country is restructured? The shoreline programme here is also on the mind of the state government, that I can assure you”.
On the Asaba International airport, the governor’s representative said, “The good thing is, today, there is a committee in place headed by Professor Sylvester Monye, they are fashioning out ways in which we can truly make that airport very functional with foreign partnership. So, I can assure you that the government of Delta State is equally in the forefront of all these mindsets”.
To hide away from further boo, Okowa’s representative hurriedly ended his speech, “Haven said this, I want to say, I have another programme to attend to but I need to be here first that is why I have come. If I have all the time, I would have loved to stay back”.
Meanwhile, another guest speaker, Professor A. Okecha, who aligned that other ethnic nationalities in the state have been able to identify their leaders, but the Anioma nation has not been able as political leaders, rather imposes themselves as leaders.
Contributing to the discuss, the traditional ruler of Owa-Oyibo, Emmanuel Efeizomor, lamented that the Anioma nation has suffered setbacks due to the inability to identify who their national leader is.
“Well, the Anioma Nation has not been able to identify who our national leader is, the person that will speak for us at the national level. However, we have an Anioma governor, let us support him”.
