2022 will be better for Nigeria —Gov Okowa

DELTA State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has expressed optimism that 2022 will be a better year for Nigerians.

Governor Okowa, flanked by his wife Dame Edith, at the festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, held at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, the state capital, said that 2021 was a challenging year for all.

He urged Christians to renew their hope in God as He alone could turn around the fortunes of the people.

“Let me wish everyone here a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance.

“There is no doubt that the year has been very tough for so many Nigerians and Deltans are not excluded from the challenges of the nation.

“But there is hope for tomorrow and all I pray and ask of you is to stay faithful in God and to realise that in Christ Jesus we have hope for tomorrow.

“I thank you for coming to this event because in all things we have to give thanks to God and it is in an occasion like this that we appreciate God for our lives.

Guest minister, Apostle Zilly Aggrey, from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in his exhortation, urged Christians to show appreciation to God for his incredible love to humanity as demonstrated by his son, Jesus Christ.

The cleric said God never makes mistakes because his word never fails, adding that nothing any man could do to escape God’s judgment.

He commended Governor Okowa for his support to the Christendom in the state.

Meanwhile, motorists and commuters have appealed to the state government to free the Nnebisi road any time an event is scheduled at the Stephen Keshi Stadium.

The appeal, they said, became imperative as a result of the hardship people go through locating their destinations during sporting activities at the stadium.

More often than not, security agents had always blocked one lane of the road or completely blocked  the two lanes approaching the sporting facility from a long distance thereby throwing the road users into tipsy tops.

The last Thursday experience for motorists and commuters occurred when they were locked up in a traffic gridlock for several hours as the state government hosted the 2021 festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at the stadium.

Some motorists and commuters who spoke on the matter said it was harsh to subject people to such suffering because of an activity held inside the stadium.

Johnbull Monye, a tricycle operator and Madam Amara Uche, a 65-year-old retired civil servant, wondered why security operatives would close one lane of the busy road which is already experiencing more traffic due to the Yuletide.

According to Monye, it was good to have Carol but not to subject people to that kind of traffic.

In his reaction, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, regretted the experience of the commuters and motorists, saying the security men should have managed the traffic situation to an extent that the consequences would not have been grave on the people.

Traffic started building up at about 4:00 p.m. on the road where the stadium is located and venue of the festival following the blocking of one lane of the road by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and police.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that as tricycles,  and other vehicles were trapped, most commuters resorted to their fate by trekking to their destinations.