…Resignation not enough — Aggrieved constituents tell former Delta commissioner

By Dave Okpogadie, Asaba

As preparations for local government elections in Delta State have commenced,  Delta state Commissioner for Technical Education, Onyemaechi Joan has resigned from the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.

In a video posted by Ossai Ovie Success, Senior Special Assistant to the governor, Onyemaechi, who was also a former House of Representatives member, said she resigned to give way to her younger brother to emerge as Aniocha South local government council chairman.

She said the office of the chairman is zoned to her Ubulu Uku clan but people of the local government have complained that she cannot hold office of commissioner while her brother holds office of local government chairman.

In the argument, one office must go for the other, hence she decided to resign in order to pave the way for her brother to become chairman.

According to her, someone helped her to grow in politics and now she is a political consultant and as such, she has to allow her younger brother to grow and become politically relevant.

…Resignation not enough, aggrieved constituents tell former Delta commissioner

Meanwhile, despite tendering her resignation as a commissioner in the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Hon. Onyemaechi Joan seems not to have placated the aggrieved persons in her local government area as some aggrieved persons in the local government are demanding more.

Trouble started when some persons in Aniocha South local government area of Delta State raised an eyebrow that all major political  offices allocated to the local government have been hijacked by Joan and his siblings while other parts of the LGA have been left without any.

Joan took the office of commissioner allocated to the LGA while his brother just served as the local government chairman and plans to go back for the second term. This did not go well with the people in the local government area.

In view of the protest from the people, Hon. Joan resigned her appointment as commissioner in the state but the people are saying the council chairmanship should go to Nsukwa clan in the LGA.

In a voice message, made available to our reporter, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party in the local government area, Mr Andrew Okolie from Ubulu-Unor, who is also from Joan’s clan, remarked that the chairmanship should be zoned to Nsukwa clan in the spirit of fairness and justice.

Meanwhile, aggrieved protesters from Aniocha south local area of Delta State, yesterday barricaded the entrance to the Government House, Asaba, the State capital to register their grievances over what they called “impunity” in the local government council ahead of the council election.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), members, under the aegis of Concerned Nsukwa Clan Youths, with the slogan, “Equity,” demanded justice to the injustices done to them since 1999.

Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “Nsukwa Clan is not a political slave,” “say yes to equity, fairness, justice and balance in Aniocha south,” “youth of Aniocha south endorse Nsukwa Clan mandate.”

Others are “say no to political impunity, manipulation and oppression in Aniocha south,” “on equity we stand,” “Nsukwa Clan council chairmanship 2024 is non negotiable.”

Also, “Senator Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa let Aniocha south breathe,” “say no to family business in Aniocha south,” “Nsukwa Clan deserve the council chairmanship,” and “Nsukwa Clan want council chairman or no deal,”

They threatened to boycott the party in 2027 if the right thing was not done.

The siege mounted by the aggrieved youths did not only disrupt free movement of vehicles into Government House for hours but also paralysed activities.

Over one million youths from the Niger Delta region have registered on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, youth empowerment programme platform, tagged Holistic Opportunities Programme of Engagement, Project HOPE.

Speaking in an interview with journalists at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Commission’s Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, announced that the second phase of the programme would kick-off in the first week of June, following the conclusion of the first phase, which had seen the registration of over one million youths in the database.

He explained that the second phase which included training in agriculture, technology, entrepreneurship, internship and marine, would be heralded by the on-boarding of communities that have donated land for the agricultural scheme of Project HOPE.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer noted that the youth empowerment programme was part of the NDDC policy of transiting from transaction to transformation, which emphasises transparency and accountability.

Ogbuku stated, “We have given more opportunities and hope to Niger Delta youths through our Project HOPE, meant to identify interests of the youths for skills training. The programme has helped us to develop a comprehensive digital repository, comprising important information about the youths of the Niger Delta region; including their qualifications, skills, interests, needs, and current employment status.

“This database will serve as a plank for data-driven planning, enabling the formulation of impactful policies and programmes targeted at the youths.

“We encourage more persons to register because we want to ensure that our future engagements with youths will be based only on those who have registered with us in the database. That will enable us to know their areas of competence, because we discovered that our previous trainings were given to friends and family members who are probably not even interested in the training.”

The NDDC boss remarked that the Commission was partnering with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture, NDCCITMA, in the training of youths and young entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta region. He said that the collaboration would ensure the sustainability of youth development programmes.

He remarked that the chamber of commerce, which had been registered and inaugurated, would work in conjunction with the bank of Industry to support future NDDC training programmes.

In his remarks, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects and the Chairman of Project HOPE Implementation Committee, Sir Victor Antai, noted that the programme had been translated from vision to reality.

He declared, “Project HOPE has come to stay. When it was launched on July 12, 2023, some sceptics expressed reservations about the visionary programme. Today, we have started translating the lofty ideas into visible action.

“I assure you that the HOPE initiative is real and will be sustained. The database that we are building will not only help us to select the right persons, but it will also help us to monitor their progress. We are using technology to ensure that you do not need to know anybody to be enlisted into the programme.”

Also speaking, the resource person for Project HOPE, Mr. Blessing Fubara, affirmed that the second phase of the programme would commence with six quick impact action specimens, such as the Music and Art sector, noting that the time had come for a serious development model to kick-off in the Niger Delta region.

The Federal Government has announced the ground-breaking ceremony for the building of a 1,600-capacity student hostel in Akwa Ibom State.

This project is part of a N98.2 billion nationwide initiative to enhance educational infrastructure.

The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, stated that the Federal Government, in partnership with states and the private sector, will construct 24 housing facilities across 24 institutions, each with 1,600 bed spaces.

“This addresses a significant student accommodation deficit, enhancing student performance and well-being. It is also a testament to the sophistication and depth of our local capital markets,” he stated.

Represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Special Duties, Mr Okokon Ekanem Udo, the Minister added that this initiative invests in our youth and educational infrastructure, ensuring that tomorrow’s leaders have the resources and environment they need to thrive.

“It also demonstrates the private sector’s willingness and capacity to partner with the government to deliver critical infrastructure projects across all geopolitical zones, to reduce the housing deficit,” the Minister said.