God is a just God and whosoever professes to be a servant of God must not only be just, but must be seen to be just.

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by Goodhead Goodliffe

The Executive Chairman of Ahoada West local Government, and the leader of PDP in the local government, Hon. (Evang.) Hope Okiriko is a professed Evangelist and therefore a servant of God.

Ahoada West local Government is made up of two distinct ethnic nationalities (Ekpeye and Engenni), however, for some unexplainable political reasons, the local government is structured into three clusters (Engenni, Igbuduya and Ubie). Each of the clusters has four(4) wards.

Ideally, elective positions and political appointments should be based on these divide, however, this is not the case.

Presently, the chairman, vice chairman, and secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the local government are all occupied by persons of Ekpeye ethnic nationality. it is on record that when the Governor sought to know from the executive chairman, Hon. Hope Ikiriko and Hon. Nwanaka Okpokiri, over who should be the party chairman, they couldn’t agree on a particular person. While the executive chairman suggested hon.Ezekiel Agri, our representative suggested Mr. Avor Green. The governor was said to have gotten pissed off, and in expressing his anger, gave it to the current occupier, Hon. Isaac Obuzor, his inlaw.

Also, the elective positions are occupied by persons of Ekpeye extraction.

Prior to the appointment of Dr. Reason Onya as commissioner, the Governor held a meeting with stakeholders of Ahoada West PDP. Amongst the issues discussed in that meeting, was the political marginalization of the Engenni people ( I was in the meeting)

The governor talked about making an Engenni Person a commissioner but stakeholders from Ekpeye objected. My good friend, Promise Jacob was nominated by Arch. Nnamdi Obuzor but was not supported by other stakeholders from the Ekpeyes. Eventually, Dr. Reason Onya got the slot.

Amongst the stakeholders from Engenni in that meeting were Chief Dressman,Chief Abelekum, Avor Green, Hon.Ezekiel Agri, Hon. Josephine Ubah, etc. Unfortunately, none of the stakeholders from Engenni was able to strongly push the Engenni position, may be, they never wanted to be seen as speaking for themselves.

After all the governor’s effort to give the party chairmanship and or commissioner to Engenni were successfully rebuffed by the Ekpeye stakeholders, suggesting that Engenni should rather be given another Special Adviser position. The governor accepted their suggestion and promised to appoint another Engenni person, Special Assistant.

That promise was never fulfilled. It was expected that the leader of the party would continually remind His Excellency of his promise but that never happened.

His Excellency is known to making good his promises. I know that if our leader had pushed the way he pushed for Dr. Reason Onya, the governor would have obliged him.

How my leader is comfortable with all these injustices around him, as a servant of God, is what am yet to understand.

His skewed political appointments is a talk for another day.

#Ikirikocandobetter