Anti-grazing Bill: Don’t play politics with lives of Deltans, Omene charges Okowa

———By Shedrack Onitsha———–

 

A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, APC in Delta State, Dr. Wilson Omene has charged Governor Ifeanyi Okowa not to use the lives and properties of Deltans as a negotiating instruments for his second term ambition. 

Omone, a former Chairman of Ethiope West local government area state this in a chat with journalists over the delay by the Delta State House of Assembly in passing the Anti-Open Grazing Bill which is laying docile in the house.

According to him; Okowa should device a more strategic way to win the votes of Deltans, because Okowa second tenure cannot be equated with the lives of Deltans.

So, he should stop playing politics with the lives of Deltans by handing off and allow the house to pass the grazing bill and stop the herdsmen killing of our people daily without provocation.

He added that the main purpose of government is to provide security for the lives and property of the citizens and that Governor Okowa has failed in this regard by working to thwart the passage of the grazing bill, while the herdsmen runs riot in Delta.

Speaking on the stage of the bill, a principal officer of the house who spoke to anonymously said that the bill has passed first and second reading and went through public hearing where Deltans submitted  well articulated memorandum on what they wants in the bill which are embedded in the bill.

He added that when the bill came back to the House at the committee of whole, sections 1-8 has been passed and that what was left is section 9-20, “the house was to consider the remaining sections and passed it on the day the former Speaker, Hon. Monday Igbuya was impeached.

“To our shock, as soon as Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori came in as Speaker, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire who pride himself as the farther of the governor started mounting pressure on the news Speaker, who incidentally is his ‘boy’ and the Governor for the bill not to be passed.

“I don’t know if he has a personal interest about the bill, but his narrative is that the Governor should delay the passage of the bill until he gets his 2^nd term ticket and that Okowa should not offend or work against the Hausa-Fulani’s interest, because APC-led federal government is headed by a northerner and that they can use their influence to stop Okowa’s second term ambition.

“It is very sad that Okowa and the Speaker are now playing politics with the lives of Deltans because of their second term aspiration; meanwhile these herdsmen are killing Deltans daily.

“ Does it not surprise you all the killing by herdsmen in Isoko, Ndokwa, Ughelli, Ethiope and other parts of the state Governor Okowa has not deemed it fit to visits any of the victims family, not to talk about the area the attack took place.

“In Edo State here, just only one attack that led to the loss of life, Governor Godwin Obasike drove form more than two hours to Esian to commiserate with a victim family, which is a clear indication that Okowa has a hidden agenda over the herdsmen attack.

“That is how you know a good governor, not this one that is only interested in amassing wealth and how to secure his second term ambition.

“It will also interest you to know that nobody has been killed by herdsmen in Agbor or amongst the governor’s kinsmen; this may also explain why he is comfortable playing politics with the lives of Deltans.

“Taraba, Benue, Bayelsa have passed their own version and Edo own just passed the second reading, and that of Delta started before must of these state. All the efforts that many House members put into this bill are laying waste, because the governor prefers to play politics with the lives of Deltans, so sad.

When asked if the governor is pressuring the House to delay the passage of the bill, the Speaker, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has this to say, “That is not true, we are on it and we want to do a thorough job that will meet the yearnings of Deltans.

“We are on it, and I said so during my press briefing, the executive are not involved and should be left out of it, we are still consulting and when this bill is out, everybody, Deltans and all stakeholders will be happy, I can assure you that.”