Elected officials shying away from supporting the agitations of their people are not worth their positions — Okowa

Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, on Saturday, averred that elected officials who shy away from giving support to the voices of their people are not worthy of such positions.

This is just as he restated the resolutions of the 17 southern governors, saying they had no choice but to re-echo the age-long cries of those who elected them to office.

Okowa, while addressing a crowd of leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state at the Cenotaph in Asaba, further underlined restructuring as the way out of the woods for the country.

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While appreciating God and his colleagues for making the meeting possible in Asaba, the governor slammed critics of the joint resolutions, saying the conversations must continue with the tacit support of elected officials at all levels.

“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about the southern governors meeting. We thank God for that meeting.

“We thank God for bringing us together. The things that we said aren’t new. We’re only re-echoing what our people have been agitating for.

“But unfortunately I read that somebody said we ought not to talk about certain things as elected people.

“If the voice of your people is out always and as an elected person you shy away from giving further voice to their voices, then you ought not to be in the position you occupy.

“So, I thank our people in the House of Reps who have responded to the speech made by their colleagues,” he enthused.

The governor further reiterated that there was no reason for any region or individual to be afraid of the governors’ stance as a non-issue relating to dismembering the country was discussed at the forum.

“As I did say, there’s none of the things we’ve discussed that’s against the unity of this country.

“We believe in the unity of our country as elected leaders. But we also went ahead to advance for some things that must be done to give strength to the unity.

“We talked about restructuring which has been on the table for too long. Both the voices of the PDP and the APC have been on restructuring.

“And restructuring is all-inclusive and all-encompassing. We all have different views on it. But when we all sit at a round table, we’ll agree on what’s best for us all.

“The conversations have started and our people are talking and when we do not give backing to their voices, then we’re giving room for further crisis.

“Other leaders should thank the southern governors for giving further voices to the conversation which can bring about a country with fairness, equity and trust among the people,” he averred.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE