Paul Osuyi, Asaba
National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus and three unnamed governors on the party’s platform are among dignitaries expected at the grand reception for Delta State Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa by his people of Delta north senatorial district (Anioma nation) this Saturday in Asaba.
Former Economic Adviser to the Federal Government and the Ozoma of Asaba, Philip Asiodu, will be the chairman of the reception which will provide opportunity for the people of Anioma nation to endorse their son, Dr. Okowa, for re-election as governor of the oil rich state in 2019.
Publicity Secretary of the planning committee, Ogbueshi Patrick Ukah, said in Asaba that apart from Secondus and the governors, senators, House of Representatives members and traditional rulers from Anioma nation and beyond are also expected.
Ukah said that the people of Anioma nation, irrespective of political party affiliation, decided to come together to organise a resounding reception for Okowa who, according to him, has distinguished himself as governor.
“This reception would have come long before now but we wanted to convince ourselves that our son, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has stamped his feet firmly as a true leader of Delta, and from Anioma extraction,” Ukah said.
“The Aniomas, from the corporate world, from every nook and cranny of Anioma, the traditional rulers, politicians, and all that call themselves sons and daughters of Anioma, are going to stand still for Senator Okowa on Saturday.
“We will be having very prominent Deltans and Nigerians that will be coming. We have some governors that will be coming to attend the event and, of course, you know that he belongs to a party. Definitely, the leader of his party in Nigeria will also be coming to Asaba on Saturday,” Ukah said.
He added that: “I think it is time that we must give honour to whom honour is due. So the event is to give him [Okowa] a solidarity reception that people will call a unity reception. We have called Okowa a true leader, a true political icon of the northerners and a man that we know that will turn this state around; and the fact that he came from our area, we must celebrate him.”
