The leadership and other stakeholders of the Ijaw ethnic nationality in Delta State have pledged continued loyalty and support for the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori beyond his first tenure.
Chairman of the Leaders and Stakeholders of the Ijaw nation and former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, made the pledge on behalf of the Ijaw nation during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at Government House, Asaba, on Wednesday.
The elder statesman said they had come to appreciate the Governor for the good things he was doing for the Ijaw nation and Deltans in general.
Bozimo said: “It gives me special pleasure to be able to have an opportunity to come and see you and express our deepest appreciation for what your administration is doing for the Ijaw nation.
“I want to thank you very much for the wonderful things you have done for the Ijaw nation, personally, collectively and culturally. I need to draw the attention of everybody here that this is a Governor who surprises us all.
“Anybody who comes to Delta can see the good works you are doing. We have a list of some things you have done for the Ijaw nation and, like Oliver Twist, the ones we would like you to look into.
“We truly appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts. I recommend to every politician that ‘Ukodo’ has happened.
“Seeing is believing and you don’t need to go about campaigning, come 2027. We will campaign for you and I know that we can’t remain the same in Delta anymore.
“We, the Ijaw nation, have risen to support you. When we say it, we mean it and that’s how it will be in your second term; we will stand behind you when the time comes because you are a ‘talk -and -do’ Governor.”
Responding, Governor Oborevwori commiserated with Alaowei Bozimo whose daughter passed on recently at the age of 61 and prayed to God to grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
He thanked the Ijaw nation and indeed the Delta South Senatorial District, for voting massively for his emergence as Governor, saying that he never lost any local government area in the district.
Oborevwori commended the Ijaw nation for their political unity and lauded Bozimo for standing by the Ijaw nation, saying, “your leadership in Ijaw nation is worth emulating.
“You took a decision to support one of your own during the Governorship primaries; you had no choice. What you did was the right thing and I know that the Ijaw nation recognises that.
“I thank you for keeping the Ijaw nation together and I can see the trust they all have in you. I will take my time to look at all the things you have request for.
“I know the role you people played because we never lost election in Ijaw nation and the whole of Delta South but we lost some in my Senatorial District.
“We need more unity in this state and country and I want other ethnic nationalities to emulate the unity of the Ijaw nation.”