By Jonah Nwokpoku and Hery Unini
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta state has said he sacrificed his ambition to go to the senate in order for peace to reign in the state.

He said his decision averted a major inter-ethnic crisis in the state as his continuous push to go to the senate would have resulted to avoidable violence and disruption of the state’s hard earned peace and security.

Meanwhile, Uduaghan also commissioned the State Governor’s Lodge, in Lagos just as he challenged political leaders in the country, especially those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop the blame game and strategize for the development of the country.

Uduaghan

At a very brief ceremony, the governor said he had to undertake the project to give the state a befitting place in Lagos in place of the old structure which existed in the space.

The governor informed that the lodge is not his personal building but a state government project and would be used by successive governments.

However, Uduaghan who was a guest speaker at the Institute of Directors Nigeria ‘Government Meets Business Forum’ in Lagos noted that inter-ethnic harmony remained the greatest challenge of Delta state.

He said it was not difficult for him choosing between his senatorial ambition and peace of the state because peace and security were critical to the economic growth and development of the state as well as realising the state’s vision of building a non-oil economy.

He said, “Some of us believe that there is nothing that is too much to sacrifice in the interest of peace in Delta. Today I would have probably become a senator elect if I had pushed further but what could have been a result of that is possibly a Warri axis living under inter-ethnic crisis and probably by now, we would imposed a curfew on Warri because of the crisis that would have arisen from my push to become a senator.

As for me, nothing was too much for me to sacrifice for the peace of Delta. And I had to weigh between my becoming a senator and peace in Delta, and for me the decision was not difficult to take. I had to forgo the senate and let peace reign in Delta and I am glad that peace is reigning in Delta. If I want to be a senator one day, I will still be but it is not likely because I want to pursue other interests.”

He added: “One of the greatest challenges in Delta state is inter-ethnic harmony. Today Asaba is the Delta State capital. Almost every Deltan has accepted Asaba as the Delta State capital. It was not so several years ago. I recall that several years ago when I started, I met my brothers who are from the other parts of Delta and one of them told me that he can never sleep in Asaba and that if he sleeps in Asaba, he may not wake up the next day.

He was a big time lawyer, so when he comes to Asaba, he does his business and goes back the same day no matter how late. But to the glory of God, today he sleeps in Asaba and wakes up alive and well.

“Today various ethnic groups are marrying each other again which was not so at the peak of the Niger Delta crisis. Today, a governor-elect is from Delta North which was a big issue. The important thing is not that Dr. Okowa is from Delta North but the fact that he was voted for by people of Delta South, Delta Central and Delta North. Before 2007, this would have been a very difficult task to achieve he said. Speaking further on the topic of the forum, ‘Delta beyond oil: A legacy of sustainable development,’ he said: “Peace and security is important in sustainable development.

Peace and security is important in attracting investment. Peace and security is important in ensuring that we have a future of Delta state beyond oil. Peace and security in Delta state, whether political or otherwise have been secured in Delta. In the last election, after the election, some of the states, even in the Niger Delta region even today, are still embroiled in some form of crises. But throughout the primaries and the main election in Delta, all the reports of the monitoring team adjudged Delta state one of the most peaceful state in Nigeria throughout the political period and it still remains peaceful politically. How did we do it?

From left; Publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka, Chinese Consul General, Kan Liu, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, PDP State Chairman, Chief Edwin Uzor and the State Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Solomon Igharakpata during the official commissioning of the Delta State Governor’s Lodge, Lagos held in Lagos, Friday. Photo: Henry Unini

Deltans decided that they must remain peaceful. Even if they had issues and did not agree with some of the processes, they handled it peacefully. For those who did not agree, they are already in court and that is the way it should be. They did not encourage violence; instead, they went to court. This is important for us because we believe that the peace in Delta will attract more investments.”

Uduaghan explained that the Delta beyond oil vision stands on the tripod of peace and security, infrastructure development and human capacity development and that the structure has been put in place to continue to drive the vision. He expressed confidence in the ability of the governor-elect of Delta state, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to sustain the drive of building a non-oil economy for the state.