Ibori endorses Okowa for re-election

 

By Amaechi Okwara

Asaba

A former governor of Delta state, Chief James Ibori, yesterday endorsed Governor Ifeanyi Okowa publicly for second tenure.
Ibori, who spoke at the Cenotaph in Asaba on the occasion of the maiden Products Exhibition and Business Fair organised for beneficiaries of the state’s job-creation scheme, said he would support Okowa in 2019.
He said: “I am pleased that you have invited me. My duty is to pray for you. The day Deltans voted for you, they did so with the confidence that you will deliver, and you are delivering.
“I am a Deltan, and I do have a voice on matters that bother on the peace and progress of Delta state. I may be watching from the sidelines, I want to say again that you (Okowa) are doing well. At the end of your eight-year tenure, Delta will be better for it. Your Excellency, we are solidly behind you.”
Ibori appealed to Deltans to continue to maintain peace and support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government, saying that it was the only way to continue to make progress as a state.
He commended the administration for empowering the youth, saying “I thank you for remembering the youth because they will take over when you and I are gone.”
Chief Ibori said that it was at Cenotaph he handed over power to the immediate past governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, on May 29, 2007.
“I came into this arena, Asaba, with a great sense of nostalgia. It was at this venue on May 29, 2007 that I transferred power to Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. Since then, this is my first outing here.”
Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal, also joined Okowa and Ibori during the inspection of the various exhibitions stands by the job-creation scheme beneficiaries.
Okowa, who spoke earlier, said a total of 2,324 unemployed youths were trained in two programme cycles of the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) and Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP), two flagship programmes of the job-creation scheme.

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