*I’ll never leave Labour Party, but will support Peter Obi for President–he says
*Suggests Gov. Oborevwori sets up Forest Guards to flush out criminals
By Victor Lewis
Member representing Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Benedict Etanabene, has stated that he supported and worked hard to ensure the packaging and presentation of the Bill for the creation of Ethiope State out of the present Delta State, because he is not only convinced that will be very economically viable and can sustain itself without necessarily waiting for allocation from the federation account, it is the will of majority of the people of Delta Central Senatorial district.
Speaking to our correspondent in an exclusive interview in Warri recently, the national lawmaker, stated that the area that covers the proposed Ethiope State is well-endowed with natural and human resources that are required for it to be independent and self-sustaining if it is created as a state.
He further stated that he threw his support behind it when he discovered that majority of the people from Delta Central, including the traditional institutions, elites, youths and men and women were in total support of the demand for the creation of Ethiope State from the present Delta State.
Hon. Etanabene who paid glowing tribute to the original promoters of the proposal for Ethiope East State, Olorogun Dr. Wilson Odafe Omene, Olorogun Christopher Obiuwevbi (aka Ominimini) and Hon. Evance Ivwurie, stressed that he was espoused to the idea of the creation of Ethiope State due to the abundant natural and human resources contained in the defined area, hence he gave his all to ensure the Bill was properly packaged within the prescribed time when he presented it before the House of Representatives for a very robust debate.
According to him, the proposal for the creation of Ethiope State was unique amongst requests from some other parts of the State due to the coverage and consultations that was done, adding that it met all requirements provided for in the Constitution.
Etanabene attributed the success in the preparation and presentation of the Bill to all the national lawmakers from the area, including the Senator representing the Delta Central, Distinguished Senator Ede Dafinone, Hon. Rev. Francis Waive who coincidentally is the Chairman, House Committee for Rules and Business, and Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, thanking them for their support, cooperation and contributions in ensuring that the Bill was ready within the time provided.
“First, I’m only a representative. I was elected to represent a constituency. I speak for them in the National Assembly. Ideas may not necessarily come from me. When you are representing people, you are not the wisest amongst the people. But you are the vehicle through which messages, requests, agitations can be passed through the proper channel to government. That is what I represent. The idea of Ethiope State did not come from me. I cannot take any credit or glory about it. The guys who pushed this thing forward are Chief Dr. Wilson Odafe Omene and Chief Christopher Obiuwevbi (Ominimini) and Chief Evance Ivwurie.
“I’m not political here. So, it is not a matter of whether they are in political party A or political party B or different camps or different ideology within Urhobo land. That is not my business. Or they have offended people or people have offended them, or personal issues, no, that is not my business. But these are the guys who brought this matter.
“And at the point of presenting this matter to me, I probably would have just relied solely on them to make a representation on behalf of Urhobo. But I did my own findings and consultations with other stakeholders and aggregating everything together, it suggested to me that we should go that route. And having been convinced, it became incumbent on me to do what I was elected to do in the floor of the House by presenting the request of the majority of the Urhobo. I don’t want to believe that all Urhobo are for the Ethiope State or Urhobo State. I have seen some throwing tantrums at me for doing that. They are Urhobo like me too. But it seems to me that the proposal was largely acceptable and supported by the people we are representing and I think it is politically expedient that we go that route in this matter, not let people beat us to it.
“I can say today that we have the consent of the majority of Local Government Councils, the majority of the House of Assembly within the areas that cover the request of the state, we have the complete consent of the members of the National Assembly, including the Senator, Senator Ede Dafinone, not to talk of the traditional rules and other stakeholders. So, I think that if we are going to be considered on merit those who actually met the requirements, Ethiope State will be one to be considered.
“I spoke with the Senator, he supported the Bill and he appended his signature. I spoke with the other two members of the House of Reps and they did agree and appended their signatures. Perhaps at this point I should say a big thank you to Hon. Rev. Francis Waive who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business. If he is not interested in the Bill we may not have been able to meet up with the deadline within which we presented it. Francis Waive did all within his power to make sure that these issues were listed and canvassed. In the real sense, it was a Bill presented on behalf of the other two members from Delta Central – Francis Waive and Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu. They are equally involved. So, we are good to go”, he said.
Speaking on the cumbersomeness posed by constitutional provisions to the creation of state, Hon. Etanabene stated that it was a good thing that the agitation for the creation of Ethiope State was in the bandwagon with agitations and requests from other states in the country, adding that it is good that whenever there is a call for the creation of state, Ethiope State will be amongst those to be considered.
“I hear that it is a tall task. Of course, it is a tall task but I’m consoled with the fact that we are written amongst those who requested for. So, if they are going to consider, ours will be amongst those to be considered. We have made the necessary presentation and I think we are even unique because the first time that this matter came when the Deputy Speaker was presiding, when he said that about 31 states were to be created, he was even saying that almost all of them did not meet the requirements for the request. So, it gave us the opportunity to go back and read the constitution very well and do the needful.”
Expounding more on the viability of the proposed Ethiope State, Hon. Etanabene noted that the area so defined in the proposal is well-endowed with natural and human resources including oil and gas, several solid mineral resources, agricultural resources, and human resources, adding that an Ethiope State is not only self-sustaining but has the potential for great growth and development among comity of states.
“Although I believe that many of the states ins Nigeria are not economically viable, Ethiope State will be viable. Urhobo is viable. If you may recall, when I was presenting the request I said that if we have our way, we might not even ask for Federal allocations as a State. Let them say today that any state that wants to be created that can fend for themselves, I think Ethiope State can fend for itself.
“But I will not be supporting some States that they are mentioning their names that the only reason they are asking for the creation of state for them is because they want to tap into the federation account. Urhobo has oil, Urhobo are the major traders in palm oil produce, we have gas, our soil is fertile for agriculture, we have timbers and other forest resources, we are surrounded by water that sustains aquatic lives and even trade and commercial activities along the various waterways that criss-cross the entire Urhobo land. The coming of the Europeans was not through airports. They came through the creeks and rivers. We still have them till today. So, Delta Central or what we define as Ethiope today is blessed and can survive independently on its own”, he noted.
In an answer to a question if he is getting ready to cross over to any other party in view of the crisis in the Labour Party in the country, he replied in the negative, adding that he will be ready to support his political leader, Mr. Peter Obi in whichever party he is going. He said he is ready to explore what he called “The Wike Theory”, to enable him work for Mr. Peter Obi whom is said is the only person capable of governing the country.
“I cannot leave the Labour Party. There are many reasons why I cannot leave the Labour Party. I state this thing clearly that wherever Mr. Peter Obi finds himself I will do all I can to support, campaign, galvanize Nigerians to vote for him. It is my conviction that he is the best person we should have as President of Nigeria today. It is not personal sentiment. Nigeria needs a prudent President today. If he is leaving for the Coalition, ADC, I will support him. Wike has taught us how to do the “Wike’s Theory”, everybody is going to start Wike’s theory very soon. We have been practicing ‘Owambe’ presidency in Nigeria today. Peter Obi is not a man that does “Owambe”. He puts his money and follows the money to places where we can get comparative benefit. And he had said it in economy, in education, in health, in security, etc. Peter Obi will not be talking about coastal road or renovation of complexes in Nigeria today when we need money for intervention for critical infrastructure. So, for me, I’ll support Mr. Peter Obi.
Responding to a question on what will be his reaction if he is approached by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cross over to the APC so that his second tenure in the House of Representatives will be assured, Hon. Etanabene said that he was not desperate for a second tenure, adding that the governor is from the same local government area as himself and all needs do is to continue to support him.
“I don’t even need him to go for a second tenure if I want to go for a second tenure as I’m without crossing. You have forgotten that the governor and I are from the same Local Government Area. He is my brother and my friend and I need him to continue as a governor. So, if the President wants me to cross over, I’ll vacate my seat in the National Assembly first. Then I request from Mr. President if he could open up the breakwaters in Escravos so that the NPA in Warri, Sapele, and Koko can become functional to create job opportunities for our brothers and sisters to ensure economic growth and more money for the state in terms of taxes and levies from porting activities and access to goods. If that is the sacrifice I must make, then I will not think twice. I will do it and come back to sit at home”, he offered.
On the rising spate of insecurity in the State, Etanabene advised the governor to consider the option of setting up Forest Guards which are backed by law, adding that it will go a long way to solve the insecurity problems created by foreigners who have taken over every forest in the State. But such body has to be adequately empowered with necessary communication gadgets, vehicles and other equipment in order for them to be able to flush the criminals from the forests.
“You know that the governor of Delta State is a street man, he is a down-to-earth grassroots man. He has a strong heart and he is doing his best. But he needs to do more. The challenges posed by insecurity in the state is increasing everyday. If he flushes some off, others will come. He needs to put in place a strategy to checkmate the influx of foreigners daily moving into the state to perpetrate insecurity. It is unfortunate that the clamour for state police has not yielded any positive result yet. This is because there is no law yet from the National Assembly to provide a legal framework for that. However, the Forest Guards are recognized by law. So, the state government can put up a scheme that will spread across all the Local Government Areas in the State, well-coordinated and provided with good and reliable communication gadgets, vehicles and other equipment needed to combat these bandits in the forest and flush them out. This reduce the menace of insecurity in the state. So, it is a work in progress”, he said.
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