The recent protest against the former governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has been described as a political gimmick concocted to embarrass him as well as other targeted Deltans by some desperate politicians in the state intent on rubbishing the profile of their targets.
A statement by a group of people under the aegis of Action Youths for Good Governance, AYGG had alerted Deltans of impending attacks on some reputable political figures in Delta including the former governor, and they are being sponsored by some big-name politicians in the state who see the medical doctor as a threat to their ambition. According to the spokesman of AYGG, Felix Obuah, some time ago they had uncovered a plot aimed at either getting rid of Dr. Uduaghan or disabling him politically.
“We want to alert members of the public, most particularly Deltans at home and abroad of the planned attack on the immediate-past governor of Delta state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan by agents of darkness in the state. The attack will start in the form of mass protests in different parts of the state and outside,” Mr Obuah had declared.
“We know the people involved. They are powerful people in this state who feel threatened by the enormous influence Dr. Uduaghan wields. We know they are after some politicians; those who sacrificed so much so that Delta would be an enviable state that it is today. They want them out of the scene. We know them,’’ he had also stated.
Already, the plot is hatching in phases, and some paid individuals have begun mass protests in different parts of the state, all aimed at discrediting the person of the ex-governor and all he represents.
During the week, some individuals who call themselves Delta Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum were seen protesting around the government house, bearing placards that seemed to disrepute the former governor and his administration. They were calling for his prosecution by the ICPC and EFCC without providing evidence of his maladministration.
Addressing newsmen in front of the Government House, the leader of the group, Fejiro Oliver accused Uduaghan of allegedly looting several billions of naira from the state.
The group further said that Uduaghan is not the only politician being targeted in the recent onslaught. The immediate-past secretary to the state government (SSG), Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay and other officials who served under Dr. Uduaghan were penciled down for similar treatment.
“The enemies of the state are said to have doled out some amount of money in the region of N300 million to see their nefarious act to a conclusive end,” revealed Mr Obuah.
We learned career protesters have been hired from within the country and beyond while protest materials were shipped in last week preparatory to the action which resumed this week. We also learned that over 3000 printed T-shirts were ordered and delivered successfully as well as a reasonable number of banners carrying messages.
There are suggestions also that before the resumption of the sponsored protests, some individuals had approached the former governor with intent to blackmail him and his refusal to yield to the bribe demand by them was what started the protests.
Dr. Uduaghan was the governor of Delta State for eight years from May 29, 2007. While in the saddle as governor, he impacted positively on all Deltans’ lives through developmental projects embarked upon by his administration. Chief among these was the institution of a special project to finance medical assistance to them where over N1.4 billion was expended. His administration also embarked on health programmes as the Free-under Five health programme where all the children within the age bracket of 0-5years were taken care of irrespective of the ailment.
The Uduaghan administration also embarked on a Free Maternal Health programme which enabled government hospitals attend to pregnant and expectant mothers from conception to the period of delivery free of charge. It was once reported that the antenatal care unit of each hospital was recording up to 200 to 400 attendants on daily basis. The hospitals were made to handle serious advocacy issues on care during pregnancy aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality.
The group urged Deltans to ignore the hired protesters and their sponsors because “they are the real enemies of the state”.
