By Emeka Nwokocha
Displaced flood victims seeking refuge at Internally Displaced Camps (IDPS) across Delta State have received cash donations and relief materials worth N200M from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), and Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, APC’s governorship candidate in Delta State.
Addressing a mammoth crowd of APC faithful who thronged Osubi Airport, waiting for the arrival of Tinubu, on Wednesday 2, 2022, Senator Omo-Agege announced that the ongoing aviation workers’ strike had halted the scheduled visit of the APC Presidential candidate to the IDP camps in the state, stating that the visit has been rescheduled.”
His words: “Today, I am here wearing two caps. The first cap I am wearing is the cap of the governorship candidate of APC in the 2023 general election. The second cap is that of the coordinator of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation in Delta State. The essence of this gathering today is to welcome our incoming president by God’s grace, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The reason for the visit is to show solidarity, empathy and sympathy to our people as a result of the devastating flood in most of our communities here in Delta State. And also to provide leadership in our fight to uproot bad governance imposed in Delta State in the past seven and half years.”
He continued: “But today as you all know, because of the strike in the aviation industry, and his reason for coming here is to visit IDP camps. And you know, to get to the IDP camps today, you cannot get there by road. So we made arrangements to use helicopters to move our president-in-waiting and entourage from here to IDP camps in Kwale in Delta North, Patani in Delta South and Okwagbe in Delta Central. But we have received a message that because of the strike in the aviation sector, we are not able to get any of those helicopters to move him from here to those IDP camps. So we have decided to reschedule this visit. He has promised that he’s coming back. Within the next couple of days, he will let us know; at which time the aviation strike would have been called off and we will have access to the helicopters that will take him to those locations.”
Omo-Agege added: “He has also told me to make an announcement on his behalf that because of the empathy he feels for our people, that I should announce the donation of N50million to Deltans who have lost their homes and source of livelihood and who are currently in IDP camps. This will be made available to them through the DG of this campaign, Elder Godsday Orubebe. We are going to sit down and work out the modality on how this N50 million will be shared to each of the IDP camps to ameliorate the conditions of our people. We know that no one man can restore the losses suffered by our people. So this is Tinubu’s own way of showing love to the people of Delta State.
“In addition to that, in my capacity as the governorship candidate of APC in Delta State and as Deputy Senate President and Senator representing Delta Central, I have also made arrangements and we have acquired relief materials worth N150 million. We have made all of the procurements, food items, cement, mattresses, rice, roofing sheets and more. And beginning on Friday, we are going to set up a committee that will move from IDP camp to IDP camp to distribute all of these materials to our people who have been displaced as a result of this flood”.
Taking a swipe at governor Okowa’s led PDP government, Sen. Omo-Agege lamented the borrowing spree of the governor, even as he noted that Delta state had received humongous revenue since the governor’s administration came on stream in 2015, still the state lacks basic infrastructure across board.
Continuing, Omo-Agege, while describing Delta state as the “Headquarter” of Keke, charged Deltans to change the narrative by putting an end to bad governance.
He reeled out the challenges plaguing the state, saying: “We must put an end to constant hike in school fees, poverty, unemployment, borrowing, dilapidated infrastructure, bad road, poor medical facilities, and nonpayment of gratuity to retirees.
At Okwagbe, where he visited the IDP camps, in company of a retinue of APC chieftains, Omo-Agege expressed sympathy to the victims, saying that the N200 million donations were a heartfelt contribution from Tinubu and himself to cushion the impact of the devastating flood on the victims.
Continuing, he reiterated that the people of Delta were prepared to vote out the People’s Democratic Party, and passionately called on the people of Okwagbe to join the APC winning team.
Omo-Agege’s running mate, Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi led a team to Kwale IDP camp, while DG of Omo-Agege campaign, Elder Godsday Orubebe led another team to Patani IDP camp.
