Flood: Okowa Directs Opening of Schools at Holding Camps

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has directed the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, to organise academic activities for flood-displaced school children taking temporary shelter at the different Holding Camps in the state.

Okowa revealed this yesterday during an interactive sessions with the children during a visit to Holding Camps for persons at Oneh and Ogbe-Afor Primary Schools, Asaba.

The governor said, :”I have listened to you (children) and your major concern is how to be engaged academically in the camp which is very good, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education is already working on that; it is very important that the children are positively engaged in an organised manner.

“I have gone round the camp and noticed that people among you are cooking your food, it is a good development because, you must live as one united family, show love to one another; as a government, your welfare is our greatest concern, apart from providing necessary amenities, we have mobile clinics that are well equipped to cater for your needs.

“Our major concern is to save life, we know that you have lost a lot to the flood, don’t despair, we will do our best for you to be comfortable while in the camp and also see that you are properly settled after the flood, be prayerful and believe that you are not abandoned by God.”

The Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Ernest Ogwezzy, took Governor Okowa round the facilities at the Camp and the governor gave words of encouragement to the people at the different departments he visited.

Meanwhile, Governor Okowa has assured all presidential aspirants of the PDP that the convention committee would be impartial in the process by organising a free, fair and credible exercise.

Okowa gave the assurance when he received former Senate President, David Mark, who paid a consultative visit to delegates to unveil his programmes if elected as the presidential standard bearer of the party.

According to him, “As the Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, I am expected to be neutral, we (members of the Committee) have committed ourselves to organising a convention that will be free, fair, transparent and acceptable to all and we stand by our word.”

“I will have no voting right on the day of the Convention, I will have no friend because, we have undertaking to ensure there is a credible process.”

He described Mark as “a good Nigerian and a trusted PDP member; he is the kind of Nigerian that understands the whole situation and ready to help out, I believe there is a lot of capacity in him.”

Mark had in his speech lauded the development stride of Governor Okowa’s administration, stating, “he served with me in the Senate, I know his potential, I know he can still deliver, vote for him again in 2019.”

“I am here based on my aspiration to be the next President of the country, I believe I have gathered enough experience; I know the problems of this country and they are self -inflicted; I have the capacity to tackle the problems of this country without fear or favour; when we change the government, the economy of this country will improve drastically, I believe in restructuring, I believe it can be done in phases.”