Opinion

Barry Ndiomu: A new page at the Amnesty programme

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2023

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By Tunde Olusunle

As though following a notoriously familiar trajectory, it would seem like every intervention agency emplaced by the federal government to impact on Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, intrinsically suffers some specie of leadership jinx and dysfunction. The Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), conceived by the Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku Abubakar administration, and inaugurated in December 2000, has been serially plagued by leadership instability. The Commission was established principally to facilitate the planned, integrated and sustainable multisectoral development of the nation’s oil producing sub-country.

Except for its pioneer chairman, the renowned economist and journalist, Onyema Ugochukwu, none of his successors has run a full course of four years in office as provided by the statutes. More unpredictable has been the position of managing director of the organisation which has turned up almost a dozen occupants since the inception of the concern. All manner of nomenclatures have been coined at various times, to describe holders of the position. There have been: Substantive Managing Directors; Acting Managing Directors; Temporary Managing Directors; Sole Administrators and so on. This is even as the organisation continues to bleed from the buccaneer activities of successive leaderships, who have made a veritable “automated teller machine,” (ATM), of the establishment. The core obligations of the outfit to impact substantially on the beneficiary states, has been largely kept in abeyance.

The Presidential Amnesty Programme, (PAP), was initiated and signed into law by President Umaru Yar’Adua June 25, 2009, to stem youth restiveness, militancy and ruination of oil processing infrastructure, in the same oil-bearing sections of Nigeria. The programme was articulated to execute a quartet of objectives, aimed at mitigating the quantum lawlessness in the region which at some point, had brought oil production figures to barely 700,000 barrels per day. PAP was to pursue the: Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of the militants. Barely 14 years in existence, its turnover of chief executives suggests that successive heads of the establishment, scarcely gross two years in office.

From its inception, PAP has been administered by six chief executives. Lucky Ochuko Ararile, (a retired air vice marshal); Timi Alaibe, (who once served as managing director of the NDDC) and Kingsley Kuku, (a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly), were Special Advisers to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinators of PAP, at various times. Paul Boroh, (a retired brigadier-general); Charles Quaker Dokubo, (a professor of international affairs) and Milland Dikio, (a retired colonel), have also functioned as chief executives of PAP. Reports of non-adherence to the founding objectives of the body and mind-boggling fiscal malfeasance has regularly dogged the resignations or dismissals of successive heads of the outfit.

Kuku, for instance has been on self-exile since the outset of the incumbent administration, afraid to answer for the humongous heist committed under his watch. His case reminds of Dieziani Alison-Madueke, petroleum minister under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, who has found safe haven in diaspora in the past eight years, paranoid about the prospects of Nigerian-style inquisition. Alison-Madueke was Jonathan’s ultra-powerful oil minister who could well have passed for an “alternate president” on account of the influence she wielded. Investigators once announced a whopping nine million United States Dollars, (USD), find in the home of Boroh, during a search! Such has been the monumentality of thievery, serially and bold-facedly committed in the name of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

It was perhaps against this background, that Muhammadu Buhari, undertook a guided search for a new head of the PAP, to realign and sanitise the serially raped and battered organisation, in the months preceding the conclusion of his presidency. He narrowed his quest to Barry Tariye Ndiomu, a retired major-general of the Nigerian Army. A press release endorsed by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina September 15, 2022, named Ndiomu “Interim Administrator” of the Amnesty Programme. True, other military officers have administered the organisation as detailed in preceding paragraphs. Ndiomu has been specifically headhunted both on the strength of his well-earned, eminently deserving antecedents.

Barry Tariye Ndiomu is the offspring of Charles Bebeye Ndiomu, who was also a distinguished major general in his own generation. The older Ndiomu who graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1963, was commissioned lieutenant in the Nigerian Army, 1964. He was at various times in his most eventful career: Commandant, Nigerian Military School, (NMS), Zaria; Director, Army Education Corps, Lagos, and Director-General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos. It is a measure of how highly the older Ndiomu was held in his time, that he chaired a high profile military tribunal in 1985. The “military court” tried and sentenced former member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, (AFRC), Mamman Jiya Vatsa and his accomplices to death for complicity in a coup plot against the administration of Ibrahim Babangida.

My singular, fleeting and faintest encounter with the younger Ndiomu was in May 2022. I was invited to the first year anniversary memorial of the former Chief of Army Staff, (COAS), Lt. General Attahiru Ibrahim, who died in a plane crash, early 2021. I have very special admiration for Attahiru who brought spark and sparkle into his schedule for the brief period of his superintendence. I never met him though. Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka was also on the bill for the event. As a literary student, it is always a blessing to listen to, read and learn from prodigies and masters of the the Word. Ndiomu and I were introduced to each other and we shook hands at the pre-event cocktail of the Attahiru programme in Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, which has been rechristened “Abuja Continental Hotel.” We melted into the anonymity of our various seats in the events’ hall as the programme proper kicked off.

Tariye Ndiomu was a toddler when his father joined the army in 1964. He was sufficiently inspired by his father’s career evolution, however, that he fantasised about emulating that courageous precedence. He would later join the army as a member of the “Course 29” graduates of the Nigerian Defence Academy, (NDA), and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1983. This was after completing his West Africa School Certificate Examination, (WASCE) at the Federal Government College, (FGC), Ilorin. He was deployed to the elite “military police,” (MP) corps, famous for their red berets and smart khaki-ed turnouts.

A rugged soldier, the younger Ndiomu refused to be pampered or protected as son of a “very senior general,” preferring to earn his own epaulettes, medals and decorations by dint of consistent hard work and merit. He fought bravely on the frontlines in Liberia, àt the height of the Charles Taylor-engineered civil war in that country, which began in the twilight of 1989. That was the glorious era of global acclaim for Nigeria’s military when the country initiated the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG), intervene and stabilise the country. Nigeria mobilised other West African countries to donate troops to the exercise, which was substantially funded by the country. Nigeria was the de facto “policeman” of the subregion within that era.

Ndiomu would later serve as Garrison Commander, Nigerian Army Headquarters, (NA-AHQ). In this capacity in 2014, he constituted a general court martial presided over by C C Okonkwo, also a brigadier-general, at the time. The court martial investigated the case of “mutiny and attempted murder” of Ahmadu Mohammed, General Officer Commanding, (GOC) of the 7 Division of the army, headquartered in Maiduguri. He rose to position of Chief of Training and Operations, (CTOP), Army Headquarters, the core of military thought and strategy, among other command and staff appointments he held, before his meritorious retirement as major general, in December 2017. “Ndiomu Junior” equalled the highest rank of his father.

Ever treading the tracks of his illustrious forbear, he enrolled for a law degree programme at the “UI,” and was called to the Nigerian bar. He equally attended the famous NIPSS, where his father left glittering footprints as a former head of the institution. He thus has the ascription “mni” after his name, the full meaning of which is “Member of the National Institute.” He has subjected himself to various capacity-building courses and trainings, at home and abroad, including attending the Administrative Staff College, (ASCON), Topo, Badagry and the Havard Kennedy School, in the United States. He has also attended the George C. Marshall Centre for European Security Studies.

Barry Tariye Ndiomu was born May 2, 1963, the second of eight children born by his father and his mother, Grace, who turned 84 on her last birthday. His siblings include: Valentine Ndiomu, (his immediate elder brother, who was a very senior officer in the Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS), of blessed memory). There are also: Denyi, (who holds a doctorate); Ibizie Ndiomu-Brown, (deputy chief of staff to former governor Seriake Dickson); Liyi, (a former executive in Mobil); Didi, (Chairperson of the “General Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation,”); Tina and Miedo. The family hails from Odoni in Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State.

The new Amnesty Programme Coordinator has his job cut out. In the weeks and months preceding Ndiomu’s appointment, there was loud public clamour for the disbandment of the outfit. It was believed to have become utterly dysfunctional and outlived its usefulness. It had repeatedly failing to justify the reasons for its setting up 14 years ago. National Security Adviser, (NSA) Baba Gana Mungono, also a retired major-general, in 2020, had informed Nigerians that over N700 Billion had been provided for the smooth functioning of the PAP, without visible results or tangible success. Having failed to meet public expectations therefore, there was vociferous advocacy for its decisive proscription.

Ndiomu is very conscious of the unenviable reputation the organisation has earned over time, desiring to chart a new path, retooling and refocusing the PAP. He tells us: “It is my desire to uphold the sanctity of the core values for the establishment of the Amnesty Programme.” According to him, his dispensation will be conscientiously different from former eras. His words: “Under my watch, we shall place premium on transparency, accountability and hard work. There shall be very clear departure from the past trajectory. Ours will be a purposeful and result-oriented administration.”

Ndiomu can be taken for his word and promise. He comes into his job with very huge credits of integrity, honesty, dedication and patriotism. He is focused and fortright, an ideal officer and gentleman. He has begun well, interfacing with stakeholders in the amnesty programme, across the span of his “AOR,” as the military will say, to mean area of responsibility. While he can be trusted to invest his aggregate perspiration on his brief, Ndiomu also needs every ounce of understanding, goodwill and support, in the discharge of his duties.

Tunde Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar and author, is a Member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE)

Opinion

Is Okowa in a witch-hunt or scapegoat melodrama?

Published

14 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Ifeanyi Okowa

***EFCC perjures itself on Mambilla funds as it unleashes on Atiku’s Running Mate

By Alhaji Ajila Sarafa

The incredulous Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had already detained Mr Ifeanyi Okowa, for two days, over for “N1.3 trillion fraud” and there have been speculations about Okowa’s payments of “N100 billion”, “N40 billion”, N8 billion etc for this and that.
Mr Ifeanyi Okowa is a staunch PDP leader who was previously a Senator of the Federal Republic, a two-term former Delta State governor and was the Running Mate to the PDP Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 elections.

At a press conference on Thursday, 31 October 2024, the EFCC reeled out its achievements in prosecuting “former governors, ministers over N4.92 trillion fraud” and the “successful prosecution of four former governors and two former ministers over the past 12 months under the leadership of its Executive Chairman, Barr. Ola Olukoyede, mentioning high-profile personalities charged like former governors Yahaya Bello (APC) of Kogi State, Abdulfatah Ahmed (PDP) of Kwara State, Willie Obiano (APGA) of Anambra State, and Darius Ishaku (PDP) of Taraba State “for serious allegations involving billions in state funds”.

In what played out like a script of a melodrama to hunt down opposition peoples for real or phantom crimes as offenders or scapegoats or as sacrifices, the EFCC announced at a press conference that the “former Kogi Governor Bello faces charges related to over N190 billion, Ishaku of N27 billion, Ahmed for mismanagement of N10 billion, and Obiano for money laundering and theft of N4 billion.
EFCC also disclosed that it has also charged former ministers Saleh Mamman (APC) and Olu Agunloye (SDP) “for misappropriating funds from the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project of N33.8 billion and $6 billion respectively”.

Everyone should be worried about these crimes towering over N6.3 trillion being committed by less than a dozen men, whether or not they are in the opposition parties to the ruling party or in personal opposition to the current rulers of Nigeria. Are these people the only offenders? Or are these people those who have not heeded the call of one of the National Chairmen of the ruling Party who publicly said, “come to APC and your sins are forgiven”. The former PDP Vice Presidential Candidate, Sen. Okowa is the latest addition to the set of EFCC tagged “financial criminals,” so to say. Is Okowa being witch-hunted or is he liable? However, two things are clearly certain. First, not all the high-profile offenders in Nigeria are in the EFCC net, and second, not everyone in the EFCC net is a financial criminal.

Take the case of Agunloye who was arraigned in January 2024 by EFCC with charges of awarding the construction of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Project, estimated at $6 billion, as a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract in 2003 without any cash backing. He was also charged for “taking bribes of N3.6 million and N500,000 in August and October 2019 respectively for the 2003 contract award”. In fact, for the BOT model of contract, the Federal Government was not to pay to procure the contract. It was the contractor who was expected to invest his own funds to construct and operate the hydroelectric dam as well as sell the electricity therefrom at a predetermined rate for 35 years to recoup his investments and profits. Also, as a matter of fact, FGN never paid the contractor in 2003 and has not made any payment to the contractor till now. The big revelation is that EFCC, on the 31st of October 2024 at a widely covered Press Conference, confirmed that the Federal Government of Nigeria wrongly charged the former minister Agunloye when it disclosed that EFCC also “charged former ministers Saleh Mamman and Olu Agunloye for misappropriating funds from the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project of N33.8 billion and $6 billion respectively”. EFCC has now admitted that it is prosecuting Agunloye for misappropriating $6 billion which has never existed. What is that? Witch-hunting? Or scape-goating? Or sacrifice-making?

Alhaji Ajila Sarafa.

Opinion

To A VeryDarkMan Who Lights Up A Dark Country, Respect

Published

1 day ago

November 13, 2024

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By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

You can also commit injustice by doing nothing. – Marcus Aurelius

PITCH darkness descends on Nigeria regularly enough that disconcerting as it is, darkness may be a distinguishing Nigerian feature that is not about to go away. Fewer places reflect the darkness, the neglect of the Nigerian society, than the fullsomeness of the energies for dispensation of injustice.

The entry of a young man, 30, more popularly known as VeryDarkMan, is pointing the light to some of the more embarrassingly darkened sides of our justice system. We should be grateful to him for his disruptions.

Without him, the minors who the President, in a rare case of momentary wakefulness, released, would have had their trials continued under a serious charge of trying to overawe the President’s administration. Minors, as they were, sick, hungry, all the traces of their stresses in full view, were put away for 60 days to allow investigations. Their deemed sponsor is out of reach of the law or above it.

The minors harvested from Kano, Adamawa, other States in the North, and Abuja, for waving Russian flag during their agitation against bad governance, and the increasing hardship in the country, were expected to bail themselves with N10 million each, and have senior civil servants guarantee they would not run away. They need N710 million to get out of detention.

The release and acquittal of the 71 teenagers, mostly beggars picked from the streets, to the Kano State government, is said to be a significant victory for human rights. We joke too much, too often. They had been held since August 2024.

Nobody did anything to release them. They had been forgotten. VeryDarkMan’s momentary detention was the opportunity that beamed the light on the dark recesses of Nigeria’s justice administration.

How many others who cannot afford the price of justice are still held illegally? Some minors, some adults?

The police, the Ministry of Justice, the judge, and all the routes that the children passed to jail, ignored the fact the arrested were children.

VeryDarkMan shouted enough that the next time they were in court, pictures and videos of their fainting went viral. They were hungry. They were sick. They were probably knocking on the doors of death.

Marcus Aurelius whose regnal name was Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, was a stioc philosophy, a Roman Emperor from 161 to 180, a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was among the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, during which there was relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 180 AD.

He expects us to act in the face of a crime or brutal act. If we do not act, Marcus would rate our inaction a form of injustice.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it more succinctly. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”.

We in different ways failed the minors charged to court in Abuja. They had no business being in jail and undergoing those dehumanising treatments that would stick with them for life. The courts were guilty.

Nigeria failed them particularly those who surround the President. They do too much worsening the public’s perception of the President. Not surprisingly, these same fellows are defending the arraignment of minors.

VeryDarkMan embarrassed them by asking for justice for the children. It was not long before people were questioning VeryDarkMan’s qualifications to dabble into human rights. He told them he had secondary school certificate. It was a disclosure that cut short whatever mischief they intended.

With all their education, their understanding of law and order, our Ministry of Justice easily mixing justice with injustice as they kept those children away for months. Who were they working for? Who do they account to? Is it enough to ask the children to go? With will be done to deter such official misbehaviour?

VeryDarkMan is the light that fights the pitch darkness that has seized the minds of the low and mighty in a mindless show of power, greed of immense dimensions, and the directionlessness that leads a nation that is speeding from one darkness to a worse one.

Who has forgotten the centres of concentric circles of conspiracies that cost Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, Chief Justice of Nigeria his plum job in 2017. None of the processes were followed. He was passed through the Code of Conduct Bureau, and sacked. The courts are now annulling the judgements.

No whimper was heard from the Senate which was in full session throughout the processes that terminated his appointment. The Senate confirms the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who heads one of the three arms of our democratic government. Our neutrality, as Achibishop Tutu would say, convicts us.

There are more judges and higher ranking persons that the targeted injustices of the past and the times are affecting. Justice is far from everyone contrary to thinking that some are safe.

When the unjust act, they are blinded by motives. Justice Onnoghen in a minority, dissenting judgement, annulled the election of Umaru Yar’Adua as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2007. Onnoghen’s judgement voted in support of Muhammadu Buhari. It was the same Buhari that illegally sacked Onnoghen 10 years later.

Nigeria is bound by an uncaring leadership that cannot even care for itself. It is now impossible to stop the national grid from collapsing as if its constant collapse will increase our GDP. The administration unrelentingly feeds the public excuses for the unmitigated failure to supply electricity which is not even cheap.

Are we not expecting too much thinking that an administration that has made a policy of blaming everyone for everything will care for us? The issue is not that it will not – it simply cannot.

Perhaps VeryDarkMan would next beam his light on other abuses of our rights, while Marcus Aurelius still reminds us not to do nothing about injustices whether against us or other people.

Finally…

CHIEF Baltasar Ebang Engonga, the Equatoguinean whose private tapes almost got more attention than the US elections has proven that human beings can make something of anything. Engonga, the head of his country’s National Financial Investigation Agency, ANIF, is also head of the group that produced the thrilling 400 tapes that would have shaken the box office, stands by his story that participants in the tapes were not forced. I have heard several conclusions about the matter that introduced Equatorial Guinea. Not since the 2000 Olympics when Equatoguinean Eric Moussambani Malonga swam the 100 m freestyle on 19 September in a time of 1min 52.72 secs has the country attained monumental global attention. Moussambani had trouble concluding the race, but he set the record for the slowest time for the event. His time was more than twice regular times for the event. I doubt if we will ever know what Engonga did or understand it enough to pass a judgement.

YESTERDAY, Honourable Alexander Ikwechegh, the House of Representatives member for Aba North/Aba South returned to his constituency to share free petrol and kerosine. He no longer needs to apologise for slapping an Abuja uber driver Mr. Stephen Abuwatseya thrice. After waking Nigerians up to another shade of the oppression we face, Abuwatseya has apologised to Ikwechegh and absolved him of any wrong-doing. The cab man even said he should be blamed for provoking the lawmaker. I apologise for VeryDarkMan who the case wings to fly. VeryDarkMan has already apologised to Ikwechegh. Congratulations, Honourable, there is no better time to commence the 2027 campaign than now.

WHAT did Americans do that is shocking Nigerians? Did we not vote for Muhammadu Buhari? Then followed it up with Bola Ahmed Tinubu? If you sequence a Donald Trump-Joe Biden-Trump administration, the dissonance would not be much different from what Nigerians are suffering. The only difference, though, is that America has standing institutions (they ceased to be strong a while ago) that Trump cannot trample on, completely.

THOSE against Senator Remi Tinubu, the President’s wife, and Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser leading national prayers as the elixir for national security and the tough times, in a week that Peter Obi suggested that productive hours should not be invested in prayers, have more work to do. Since we delight in citing foreign examples to support things we want to foist on others, how are these important national policies managed elsewhere?

• ISIGUZO is a major commentator on minor issues

Opinion

Governor Okpebholo: A bright Edo beckons

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2024

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Governor Monday Okpebholo

By Fred Itua

Sophocles, a Greek philosopher and writer in his Play, Antigone, noted: ‘I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State.
’As Senator Monday Okpebholo assumes office today as the 6th elected Governor of Edo State, Sophocles’ sacred letters ring out loud.
Okpebholo’s emergence as the Governor of Edo State is both symbolic and historic. First, it has eclipsed the long marginalisation of the Esan (Ishan) ethnic group. In the last 33 years, the ethnic group, despite its cerebral population, has only held sway as managers of the State for an infinitesimal period of one year and six months.
Today, Edo people have proven to the rest of the world that everyone in the State matters.
Senator Okpebholo is not oblivious to the enormous tasks ahead of him. He is not also unaware of the damage the eight years of cankerworms and caterpillars Godwin Obaseki ruinously brought upon Edo people. Okpebholo may not have the full grapse of Obaseki’s damage yet. He is, however, ready to change the narratives, notwithstanding.
The emergence of Senator Okpebholo signals a new era of hope, progress, and transformative leadership. Born from humble beginnings, Okpebholo’s journey is a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and unwavering commitment to service. Despite the financial constraints faced by his family, his parents instilled in him the values of hard work, honesty, and perseverance. These early lessons would shape his character and lay the foundation for his future successes
Upon laying a strong foundation, Monday Okpebholo ventured into the world of business with a bold vision and unwavering determination. Drawing upon his innate entrepreneurial spirit and keen business acumen, he established successful ventures across various industries.
Through strategic decision-making, innovation, and a commitment to excellence, Okpebholo’s businesses flourished, creating jobs, driving economic growth, and contributing to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and Edo State.
Motivated by a desire to effect positive change and uplift the lives of his fellow citizens, Okpebholo transitioned into the realm of politics and public service. Recognising the need for visionary leadership and principled governance, he answered the call to serve his kinsmen and champion the aspirations of the people. As the Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, Monday distinguished himself as a principled leader, a tireless advocate for justice and equality, and a voice for the voiceless.
As a Governor, his conviction will be grounded in a profound commitment to the people of Edo State and a bold vision for the future. He envisions a State where every citizen has access to quality education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
His economic blueprint prioritises job creation, infrastructural development, and investment in key sectors, such as agriculture, technology, and tourism.
Okpebholo is a firm believer in the transformative power of good governance, transparency, and accountability. He has pledged to govern with integrity, fairness, and inclusivity, ensuring that the voices of all Edo citizens will be heard and adequately represented.
Central to Okpebholo’s leadership philosophy is a deep-seated belief in servant-leadership and people-centred governance. He understands that leadership is not about wielding power or advancing personal agendas but about serving the needs and interests of the people.
Senator Okpebholo will lead by example and demonstrate humility, empathy, and a genuine concern for the welfare of his constituents – Edo people. He will foster collaboration, dialogue, and consensus-building and recognise that collective action is essential for driving meaningful change and progress.
Okpebholo’s vision for Edo State is grounded in a grassroots approach that prioritises community engagement, outreach, and empowerment. He understands the importance of connecting with people on a personal level, listening to their concerns, and earning their trust.
Okpebholo represents the embodiment of hope, progress, and transformative leadership. His life story, marked by resilience, determination, and a commitment to service, resonates with the aspirations of the people of Edo State.
With his vision, integrity, and proven track record of success, Okpebholo is poised to lead Edo State into a new era of prosperity, unity, and inclusive development.
As the Governor of Edo State, he will not retreat and place his responsibilities on the shoulders of others. He will make tough decisions that will move Edo forward. Unlike Obaseki, who earned himself a name as the most famous MoU Governor, Okpebholo will rely on the expertise of the vibrant Edo State Civil Service and other capable hands he will hire to drive home his agenda for the Heart Beat of the Nation.
Okpebholo repeatedly assured during the campaigns that ‘Edo will witness a new development. This is the time the civil servants in the state will have a free hand and enjoy their job. There will be no consultants coming from somewhere to do their jobs. We will give them a chance to do their job. Their salaries would be guaranteed and no one would reduce their salary.’
As an ICT guru, Okpebholo will harness the skills of Edo entrepreneurial youths and make the State the hub of IT experts in the West of the Savanah. Under his watch as Governor, the vibrant youths of Edo will be put to gainful use and add to the growth and prosperity of the State.
No section, ethnic group, or religious aligners will be left out in Okpebholo’s Government. With him as the Captain of the ship, Edo State will berth successfully, and the people shall echo the Book of Proverbs 29:2, that ‘When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.’

Rohini Nilekani, an Indian writer, author, and philanthropist, posited that ‘As citizens, we have to co-create good governance, we cannot outsource it and hope to be passively happy consumers. Like everything worth its while, good governance must be earned.”

What more can I add than to urge Edo sons and daughters to rally behind their worthy son, Okpebholo. He will make Edo State safe and great again.

From the Kukuruku Hills in Iyamho to the Anthills in Udomi; vast arable lands in Sobe, to the oil-rich Gele Gele; fear not! With Governor Monday Okpebholo, AKA, Akpako-Messiah, help has come!

As a Christian, I offer this prayer from the second stanza of a hymn, titled Abide With Me by Henry Francis Lyte for Governor Okpebholo.

‘Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.’

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with Governor Monday Okpebholo, now and forevermore, amen.

Long Governor Okpebholo!
Long live Edo State!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Fred Itua is the spokesman to Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo