Prof Igho Natufe Sad Over Neglect Of Okpe Kingdom, Rebukes Delta Political Leaders ….Tasks Oborevwori, Dafinone, Others On Development

The people of Okpe Kingdom have been urged to wake up from their apparent slumber to develop Sapele and Okpe Local Government Areas.

The charge was contained in a message delivered at the weekend by the President General of Okpe Union, Prof Igho Natufe.

The specialist in International Relations and Soviet/ Russian Foreign Policy noted with sadness the stunted growth and development in Okpe Kingdom.

‘’While we share the Orodje’s lamentation on the neglect of Sapele and Okpe Nation by “successive governments”, we situate the problem more in the failure of Okpe elected/appointed political and traditional leaders for the stunted growth and development in Okpe Nation’’.

These leaders, according to the renowned political scientist, played and continue to play pivotal role in the electoral “victories” of the governing parties: the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the federal level from 1999 – 2015; the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the federal level since 2015; and the PDP at State and Local government levels since 1999, with Okpe indigenes representing Okpe Nation in the Senate and the House of Representatives, at different occasions, and holding key ministerial portfolios in the Delta State Government, for example, Agriculture, Education, Works, and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, etc.

An alumnus of the People’s Friendship University, a former university professor of Political Science (University of Ghana and the University of Benin) and senior advisor to the Government of Canada, Natufe hinted that Okpe political leaders failed to use their `positions in government to impact positively on the growth and development of the Okpe Nation.

‘’Collectively, they failed to use their positions in government to impact positively on the growth and development of the Okpe Nation, as evidenced in the dilapidating state of public education institutions and the roads, and the absence of industries in Okpe Nation, compared to, for instance, the Isoko Nation’’ The author of several of scientific research was unhappy with the achievements of top government functionaries in Delta State.

‘’What was the role of Okpe leaders on the (then) proposed establishment of a university at Degheli? What positive impact have the two local government councils in Okpe Nation (the Okpe LGC and the Sapele LGC) had on the socio-economic development in Okpeland since 1999? How much does the Delta State Government receive quarterly from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)? How much of these are allocated to, for example, the ministries of Agriculture, Education, Works, etc? How much monthly or quarterly is allocated to each local government council in the State from the actual amount received from the FAAC? These Okpe political and traditional leaders play critical role in the “successive governments” that have contributed to the under-development and impoverishment of the Okpe Nation’’ .

He noted that the task of Okpe Union is heavy, demanding and challenging.

‘’If we are unable to interrogate Okpe political and tradition leaders on their poor stewardship impacting on Okpe Nation, then we lack the moral justification to interrogate non-Okpe political leaders on the stewardship of their respective portfolios impacting on Okpe Nation. A people get the government that they deserve’’