Okowa appeals to Isoko communities to unite for peace, development

Governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has appealed to the people of Isoko to bury their differences and unite for the peace and development of the area.

Okowa at the funeral of late Tim Owhefere, Majority Leader of Delta State House of Assembly, at Akiewhe-Owhe, Isoko North Local Government Area on Saturday, said that late Owhefere was a bridge-builder and worthy son of the Isoko nation, who contributed immensely to the growth and development of the state through his many accomplishments in law-making.

The governor reiterated that the deceased was a trustworthy and dependable friend, who never betrayed his friends.

“Today we have come to celebrate the life and times of our dear brother, Hon. Tim Owhefere. We didn’t wish he would leave us at this age, but we are here because of the life he lived.

“We are truly celebrating him because it is not how long you live but the impact made while alive.

“He had great and unfulfilled dreams and for the family, the House of Assembly and to us in the executive, we have lost somebody very great to us.

“Tim Owhefere was a gentleman in the political circle and he was very close to me because as Majority Leader, he was my voice in the House.

“As a government, we miss him because we know the role, he played for us, particularly in the House of Assembly. He was truly worthy of all honour because he was a good friend to us,” Governor Okowa said.

The governor emphasised that late Owhefere was a man of the people who never closed his doors to the people and did place the interest of the larger majority of the people before his personal interests.

“He loved and worked for the collective good of those around him and I thank God for the Isoko people for giving us a good son that worked with us tremendously,” the governor added.

He thanked the Bishop of Anglican Communion in Isoko Diocese, who conducted the service, for the sermon, and said that peace was very important for the growth and development of the people.

He urged the people to shun disunity and work in the interest of their land.

“I have come to realise that I have a very special love for the Isoko people and it’s important we know that it’s only in an environment of peace that we can grow together.

“Let Tim’s death unify the Isoko people. There is no amount of land that is worth the blood of an Isoko son because when you have settled, the lives lost can’t be replaced.

“Tim is gone but we must come to realise that it’s only the Lord that knows when it’s best for us to go. He was a worthy son of Isoko nation, a strong man and bridge-builder in the governance of Delta,” Okowa stated.

Speaker of the Delta State House Assembly, Rt Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, thanked the Governor and top government functionaries for attending the funeral.

He said that the late Majority Leader was a brilliant lawmaker and a great asset to the legislature, adding that he would be greatly missed by the House.

Earlier in a sermon titled “Living with the consciousness of the reality of life,” Bishop of Oleh Diocese (Anglican Communion), Rt. Revd John Aruakpor, called on all to live with the mindset that there was life outside physical death.

Aruakpor said that the best time to repent was now as there was no repentance in the grave.

He described late Owhefere as a man that lived his life for the service of God and humanity and urged all to immortalize him by embracing Christ “who is the owner of everything including life that men enjoy today”.

He harped on the need for the people of Isoko to put the interest of the area above self, stressing that the quest for who to occupy vacant position resulting from the demise of the lawmaker should not tear them apart.

The cleric called on the political class to work as a family for accelerated transformation of the state.