THERE was a mild drama that almost marred the 60th anniversary colloquium of the creation of the Midwest Region now Edo and Delta states, as the press crew of the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, was sent out of the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Centre venue of the ceremony based on “orders from above”.
An aide to Shaibu told Vanguard that “they were inside before they were flushed out; they were picked out, flushed out.
“The deputy Governor had to go and as we speak we are all in his house. They were asked to leave. They said it was an instruction from above, that is what the security men said.”
The deputy governor eventually left the venue when his media crew were not allowed back into the hall.
Meanwhile, the colloquium had in attendance several dignitaries including former governors of Edo State including Comrade Adams Oshiomhole now a senator; Professor Oserheimen Osunbor; former Chief Whip of the Senate, Sir Rowland Owie; Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir. Monday Onyeme; representatives from the governor of Bayelsa State; former deputy governor of Edo State, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe; Secretary to Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie; Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Blessing Agbebaku, among others.
Governor Obaseki, in his remarks saluted Oba Eweka II, Oba Akenzua II, Chief Dennis Osadebey, and Chief Anthony Enahoro among others, who secured the creation of the then Midwestern Region.
He said these heroes braved the odds and battled to create a distinctive political identity for a people who have always loved and cherished their freedom, culture and creative energies.
Obaseki said, however, that 60 years after the referendum, the people are still bedeviled with numerous socio-economic challenges, which require a reset of the institutions and structures that propped the region up in the past.
In a goodwill message, Oshiomhole who lauded the initiative to organise the colloquium, noted that a lot had been achieved since the 1963 referendum.
He added that if the people of Edo and Delta were to be still part of the Western region, persons like himself, Prof Oserhiemen Osunbor and the present governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki would not have had the opportunity to become governors.
Oshiomhole, therefore, asked Obaseki as the most senior governor of the South-South, to reactivate the Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta (BRACED) Commission, a regional body aimed at championing the welfare of people of the core Niger Delta.
During the panel discussion session, the panelists composed of Prof. G. G. Sarah, Prof. Eddy Erhagbe, and Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, discussed “60 Years After the Referendum, Which Way Midwest?”
They advocated a redesign of Nigeria federalism to suit the country’s present political dynamics, the need for good governance that would promote accountability, a return to the 1963 federal structure that promotes, fiscal Federalism, resource control and devolution of powers.
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