Delta State government has commenced the process of rebuilding the Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.
Okuama, an Urhobo enclave, was destroyed after the unfortunate killing of 17 army officers and soldiers in the community.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori disclosed this when he played host to the leadership of Urhobo Council of Traditional Rulers, led by its chairman and the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM, Emmanuel Sideso Abe 1, and the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) worldwide, led by its President-General, Chief Ese Gam, at the Government House, Asaba, on Thursday last week.
Oborevwori expressed appreciation to the Urhobo traditional rulers for visiting and donating food and relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Okuama community.
He said the state government had awarded contracts for the construction of a health centre and six classroom blocks for primary and secondary schools in Okuama community, adding that the IDPs will soon return to their ancestral community.
“I am happy to receive Your Royal Majesties and the leadership of UPU this afternoon.
“I am happy in the sense that you all stood by me and supported me to be governor and I thank God today that your son is the governor of Delta State.
“I want to appreciate the role that you people have played and all other things you have been doing.
“The last local government election was peaceful. This is because of the fatherly role you people have played and the support you have been giving to this administration.
“I want to also thank you for your visit to the Okuama IDPs camp and also the visit to Okuama village.
“It is not a place to go by car; you went in a boat and also gave them relief materials.
“We are doing our best to make sure that peace returns to that place.
“We established the IDPs camp, awarded the contracts for the health centre and six classroom blocks for primary and secondary schools to be built. The contracts were even awarded to Okuama indigenes.
“Very soon, they will return to Okuama. I want to continue to count on your cooperation and support.
“You people are our fathers and should continue to advise us.
“The traditional rulers have a big role to play to curb the pockets of insecurity happening recently here and there.
“We need information to arrest this situation and that is where you come in.
“You are to help security agencies by giving them information.
“We are doing our best; I want to assure Deltans that we are working hand-in-hand with security agencies to ensure that the state is peaceful,” the governor said.
Earlier, Sideso, who was represented by the Vice Chairman of the Council and the Ovie of Arhavwarien Kingdom, HRM Solomon Okukeren III, said they visited to appreciate and intimate the governor on certain issues affecting the Urhobo nation and Delta State in general.
The monarchs, while appreciating Oborevwori for the remarkable work he had accomplished thus far in the last one year, commended him for the resolution of the age-long crisis between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities as well as the Okuama and Okoloba crisis.
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