Former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has accused Senator Ned Nwoko of misleading the public over the proposed creation of Anioma State.
This is even as he also questioned the timing of ongoing discussions on state creation, arguing that the current legislative calendar makes such proposals unrealistic.
He warned that raising the issue at this stage could amount to deceiving the public, reiterating that any decision on Anioma State would ultimately depend on a collective agreement among the people and the government.
Okowa made the remark while addressing APC stakeholders in Oshimili South Local Government Area during a meeting linked to his senatorial ambition.
The video was posted on Facebook on Wednesday by Osaai Ovie Success, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Delta state governor.
Okowa dismissed claims that he opposes the creation of Anioma State, insisting that no indigene of the area is against the idea.
However, he stressed that the proposed state must reflect the collective will of the people.
According to him, the Anioma State being advocated by stakeholders must comprise the nine local government areas in Delta North, situated within the South-South geopolitical zone, with Asaba as its capital.
Okowa criticised what he described as attempts to alter the status of Asaba as Delta State capital, warning that such moves were misguided and failed to recognise the historical efforts behind its establishment.
He said: “One thing that I have refused to publicly speak about and I need five minutes to address it: the issue of Anioma state. They have made a lot of misconceptions. There’s been a lot of misrepresentation in social media concerning Anioma state.
“No Anioma son, I don’t believe that there’s any Anioma son that’s opposed to the creation of Anoma state, not me as people try to portray. But the Anioma that we seek must be the Anioma that the people collectively wish for.
“And the Anioma we wish for, the collective will of the people is the Anioma that’s made up of nine local governments in Delta north that will be resident in the south south geopolitical zone, with Asaba as the headquarters.
“An Asaba daughter fought for us, and today we have the headquarters of Delta state in Asaba. today, somebody who does not understand how it came about, suddenly you want to wish away that headquarters.
“It’s terrible and it ought not to be because common sense should have told him that what he’s doing is wrong.
“We know the importance of the headquarters. And by God’s grace, Asaba is growing beyond bounds. Nobody will stop the growth of Asaba again.
“It’s important that when we are pursuing something, that’s why I talked about consultation, a consultative presentation, you must be in touch with your people. You must know what the majority want. But when you believe that you know it all, you will go the wrong path.
“I want to categorically make it clear that if you know the timetable of the legislators, you will know that we are already a quarter to go. Talking about state creation now obviously is trying to deceive you. We don’t want any deceit.
“Anioma State, by the special grace of God, we will continue to decide but when it’s going to come it will be a collective decision of our people. And those of us in Anioma and the sitting government will collectively stand up and say we want this. And it is possible.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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