by Ranti Joseph

 

 

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, February 27, visited Delta state, where he was received by the Asagba of Asaba, Chike Edozien, in his palace.

While speaking, Edozien urged Jonathan to dualise the road from Asaba through Agbor and Kogi to Abuja, raise the Asaba Airport to an international hub to improve commerce and reduce travel time for the people.

He also implored the president to compensate families of victims of the 1967 civil war massacred by the federal troops they came to receive in Asaba as well as grant Asaba a federal university as a major contributor and pioneer business hub in Nigeria through the hosting of the Royal Niger Company.

He said that the university request was made to former Presidents Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Olusegun Obasanjo, but none of them implemented it.

“Since that request, your administration has created more than 12 Federal universities, why are we forgotten?’” he asked.

Jonathan promised that his administration would continue to do its best to bring peace, secure our country and bring development.

“As your own son, I will keep faith with the promises that I made to you in public and in private to bring development to the country and Delta state will not be left out,” Jonathan said.

Jonathan also told the monarch that his administration had created a maritime University in Delta for manpower development, raised the police Academy in Kaduna to a degree awarding institution in addition to creating 12 other universities in the states that had none adding that his administration eradicated Guinea Worm and Polio with the same vigour it drove out the Ebola Virus disease.

He said that the Aviation industry received big boost while rail and road infrastructure had reached more than 90 per cent rehabilitation. Also his administration strengthened the cabotage law to create way for the participation of local entrepreneurs in the oil and gas business.

“We are marching on and in the next four years, if re-elected, we will take this country to an unimaginable height,” he added.

On power supply, Jonathan said that the power sector reform had yielded dividends and that this year would be the interface to move the sector from federal government control to private sector control to finally end incidents of power outage.

Ahmadu Alli, who stood in for PDP national chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, said that the party was happy with the achievements of President Jonathan and his Vice and decided to sponsor them to complete their second tenure.

Delta state Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan noted that the reign of Edozien had brought peace and development to the state adding that the government had heeded to his earlier request to improve electricity supply to Asaba through the NIPP project but awaiting the energization of the project.