Posted by From NWAGBO NNENYELIKE, Ilorin on
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has condemned Sunday's kidnapping of the father of the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Authur Okowa, describing it as a criminal act that has no link with oil or Niger Delta crisis.
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has condemned Sunday's kidnapping of the father of the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Authur Okowa, describing it as a criminal act that has no link with oil or Niger Delta crisis.
Speaking last night in Asaba, when the newly elected Executive of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), visited him at his official lodge, the governor assured that the perpetrators will be pursued and made to face the wrath of the law.
In condemning the kidnap of the elder Okowa, Governor Uduaghan said: "it has nothing to do with oil or the Niger Delta. It is purely a criminal act and it didn't happen in the part of the state where we have witnessed oil crisis. Some criminals just came and did it."
While calling on the kidnappers to release Pa Okowa, Dr. Uduaghan made it clear that no ransom will be paid.
He assured Deltans of their continued safety, stressing that the state government was doing everything possible to secure lives and property.
The governor also used the occasion to assure workers in the oil industry of their safety and that of oil facilities, adding that the state government was in close touch with the various host communities to sensitise them on the issue.
In particular, he said the state believes that equal attention should be given to the security of Nigerian workers because every life is important. "As we pay attention to the safety of expatriates, we should do the same to Nigerians working with the oil companies," he added.
Dr. Uduaghan challenged PENGASSAN to use its position as a pressure group to support the clamour for an upward review of derivation funds accruing to the oil producing states of the Niger Delta.
He argued that the region requires enormous funding for its development because of its peculiar terrain.