The Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom has accused the federal government of being selfish over the rising cases of insecurity in the country while also advised it to seek external support stating that the situation has become so unfortunate that killing, kidnapping, and all other sorts of calamities occurred daily.
The governor explained that the situation has gone beyond the federal government’s capacity, noting that it will be better if the federal government seeks help from other countries.
The governor stated this during the induction ceremony of Army Day Secondary School, Effurun in Delta State on Wednesday, April 28.
While speaking, governor Ortom maintains that some governors whose state were being attacked had become helpless and frustrated, adding that the major problem of insecurity occasioned by banditry, Boko insurgency, and other violent crimes in the country.
According to Ortom, the federal government has not been proactive in providing the people education stating that it was painful that Nigeria was in such a terrible situation.
He said “If they were educated they would have found themselves something meaningful to do rather than occupying themselves with committing evil across the country.
“I say so because I believe in education and if you want to develop a people, give them quality education and so I must commend Governor Okowa for the quality school and for creating three new universities in Delta,” he added.
Also, while still speaking, governor Ortom commended Okowa for his hard work, diligence, commitment, and determination in adding value to Delta and the entire country.
He said, “Governor Okowa has demonstrated immense capacity and commitment to achieve the result in all tasks assigned to him and he remains our pride both in the PDP and in the Governors’ Forum.
“Without education, there cannot be any meaningful development and a single facility hosting about 3,000 students is a good deal and worthy of commendation.
“With the universities, you have created, it will be easier to absolve them when they finish their secondary education.
“I have so much to learn from you in adding value to our people in the remaining two years left of my administration.
“We have been watching you inaugurating several projects all over the state, I thank you for this great privilege and am not taking it for granted because we have 36 governors and you could have invited any of them but you chose to invite me to perform this great function,’’ Ortom stated.
Governor Okowa on his part said, his administration was doing a lot even though a lot still needed to be done.
He commended Governor Ortom for coming to inaugurate the projects, saying, “Despite the challenges we have in our country, especially in the North Central, you still made out time to be with us in Delta, it shows the friendship and love you have for us.”
Okowa said Uvwie Local Government was among the first beneficiaries of the nine new technical colleges being built in the state.
“We are doing a lot but we still realize that a lot still needs to be done even as we continue to build new schools and also completing the projects we inherited from the previous administration.
“We believe in technical education and we also believe that our people should be imparted with necessary skills to make them self reliant and to survive the challenging times.
“We are multiplying the number of Deltans that are gainfully skilled and empowered in their chosen vocations, adding, “A minimum of 4,000 Deltans are trained yearly in the various vocational centers in the state.”
“We will continue to empower our children to make them have sustainable means of livelihood,” the governor assured.
According to Okowa, his administration was committed to completing the storm drainage projects and the Warri-Sapele Road dualisation project in the Uvwie and Warri area.
He said, on the 7.9 km Oha-Orerokpe-Oviore Road and Bridge, Okowa said it was a dream come true and commended traditional rulers for their partnership in the development of the state.
He also revealed that he would forward a supplementary appropriation bill to the state assembly for the reconstruction of the Orerokpe-Oviore-Okpe-Aragba Road.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Patrick Ukah, said that the completion of the school would facilitate teaching and learning in the area.
He said that the school was founded in 1986, and was plagued with poor facilities before the state government embarked on the construction of the ultra-modern school in 2010.
Earlier in their welcome remarks, Chairman of Uvwie Local Government Council, Mr. Ramson Onoyake, and his Okpe counterpart, Mr. Isaiah Esiovwa, had commended the governor for his giant strides in changing the face of Delta.
They lauded the governor for his strong determination to give Delta a new facelift especially in the areas of providing a conducive learning environment for students and construction of several roads across the state.
Also, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM Emmanuel Sideso, Abe 1, while speaking commended Governor Okowa for his outstanding accomplishments in his kingdom, stating that the inauguration of the project has shown Okowa’s passion for education.
The monarch also stated that the project is the second project to be inaugurated in the Uvwie kingdom in less than six weeks.
Thank you for taking your time in reading through our Journal Today. We wish to always provide you with qualitative Stories as far as GOOD-JOURNALISM is CONCERN. But good journalism costs a lot of money and only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, accountability democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism, we ask you to consider subscribing to our daily news updates.
