Former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has accused Delta North Senator, Ned Nwoko, of misleading the public over the creation of the proposed Anioma State, warning that ongoing narratives around the issue could amount to deception.
Okowa, who spoke during a meeting with APC stakeholders in Oshimili South local government area of Delta State, also questioned the timing of the agitation, noting that the current legislative calendar makes such proposals unrealistic.
He cautioned that raising expectations at this stage could misinform the public, stressing that the creation of Anioma State would ultimately depend on a collective agreement between the people and the government.
The former governorâs remarks were contained in a video shared on Facebook on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Osaai Ovie Success.
Dismissing claims that he was opposed to the creation of Anioma State, Okowa maintained that no indigene of the area was against the idea, but insisted that any proposal must reflect the collective will of the people.
According to him, the Anioma State being advocated should comprise the nine local government areas in Delta North, within the South-South geopolitical zone, with Asaba as its capital.
Okowa also criticised attempts to alter the status of Asaba as the capital of Delta State, describing such moves as misguided and dismissive of the historical efforts that led to its establishment.
He said: âOne thing that I have refused to publicly speak about and I need five minutes to address it: the issue of Anioma State. They have made a lot of misconceptions. Thereâs been a lot of misrepresentation in social media concerning Anioma state.
âNo Anioma son, I donât believe that thereâs any Anioma son thatâs opposed to the creation of Anioma State, not me as people try to portray. But the Anioma that we seek must be the Anioma that the people collectively wish for.
âAnd the Anioma we wish for, the collective will of the people is the Anioma thatâs made up of nine local governments in Delta North that will be resident in the South-South geopolitical zone, with Asaba as the headquarters.
âAn Asaba daughter fought for us, and today we have the headquarters of Delta State in Asaba. Today, somebody who does not understand how it came about, suddenly you want to wish away that headquarters.
âItâs terrible and it ought not to be because common sense should have told him that what heâs doing is wrong.
âWe know the importance of the headquarters. And by Godâs grace, Asaba is growing beyond bounds. Nobody will stop the growth of Asaba again.
âItâs important that when we are pursuing something, thatâs why I talked about consultation, a consultative presentation, you must be in touch with your people.
âYou must know what the majority want. But when you believe that you know it all, you will go the wrong path.
âI want to categorically make it clear that if you know the timetable of the legislators, you will know that we are already a quarter to go. Talking about state creation now obviously is trying to deceive you. We donât want any deceit.
âAnioma State, by the special grace of God, we will continue to decide, but when itâs going to come, it will be a collective decision of our people. And those of us in Anioma and the sitting government will collectively stand up and say we want this. And it is possible.â
Okowa reiterated that while the aspiration for Anioma State remains valid, the process must be driven by broad-based consultations and alignment with legislative realities.
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