By Nesisa Ejiro
Delta State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa said Dr. Michael Tidi’s building of Warri South Local Government Lodge, he has left a lasting legacy for the generation yet unborn. Governor Okowa stated when he commissioned the lodge recently. Governor Okowa commended Dr. Tidi for putting up the beautiful edifice, the first ever in Warri South Local Government Area and therefore urged other council Chairmen to emulate Tidi’s footpath in this direction.
He said: “I want to thank you for leaving a legacy behind because, when you have a good lodge for the Council Chairman, they will actually stay in the council. I know that you have only a few months more in this place, but the important thing is that, you are leaving behind a lodge that other Chairman can truly occupy”.
He said, the establishment of a local government Chairman’s Lodge is a very important edifice that every council area should have because, he believes that, every Chairman should have a lodge. Governor Okowa added that, if all local government areas in the state have a Chairman’s Lodge, all the Chairmen will be living in their local government areas with their people.
According to him, he has the belief that the best Chairman is the one who can give listening ears to his people as he was opportune to be an elected local government Chairman in the past just as he said, he has given instructions to all the Council Chairmen in the state to be accessible to their people at all times especially from Mondays to Fridays.
The newly built State of the Art Warri South Local Government Lodge contains 5 Bedrooms, a Library, a Conference room and a modern befitting Kitchen and facilities (Utensils) with a top notch finishing and perfect landscaping.
Governor Okowa also commended Dr. Tidi for paying attention to environmental sanitation in the council saying, there is a great improvement in environment sanitation in Warri South Council Area unlike before and urged him to keep the flag flying in this direction.
Speaking further, Governor Okowa said, he was also impressed with the entrepreneurial programmes of Dr .Tidi, saying that, from what he has seen so far, the local government boss has really keyed into the programmes of the state government..
He said:”It’s important to equip many of our young ones with relevant entrepreneurial skills within the limit of available resources to enable them have a skill that they can call their own. It is my prayers that those who have been empowered, will continue to stay committed to their businesses and live within the limit of their businesses so that, they don’t go about destroying their businesses within a short while”.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr. Tidi, said, the Governor’s presence at the ceremony has established his love and close attachment to the people of Warri South Local Government Area. He used the opportunity to sincerely congratulate the Governor -Elect, Rt .Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and His Deputy Sir. Monday Onyeme, on their landslide victory at the just concluded gubernatorial election, saying, that their success at the election was a testimony of the confidence the people of Delta State have reposed on them and great party, PDP.
He said:”It may interest you to know that my administration in Warri South Local Government came into being at a time when the Local Government was in need of a credible and purposeful leadership: leadership that would have the political will of providing the desired road map to lead our people from a condition of despair to hope and prosperity. From the inauguration of this Administration by His Excellency, the Governor of Delta State, we were determined to deliver dividends of democracy to our people. And my team swung into action with the zeal and determination to uplift the face of the Council Secretariat and the negative narratives of war”.
According to him, the task towards changing the narratives has been very challenging and extremely difficult, but with the encouragement from his political father. His Excellency, the Governor of Delta State, Sen. (Dr.) Ifeany Arthur Okowa and of course the trust in God, his administration has been able to dividends of democracy notwithstanding the limited finances and time.
Dr Tidi who used the opportunity reel out the score card of his administration said, the lodge has further enhanced the beauty of the environment and brought the presence of government to the area, stressing that, it will also go a long way to boost the economy and social activities of the area.
He said:”As we all know, the main essence of Local Government is the development of an efficient democratic system of governance at the grass root level. This implies a system of government that should be close to the people, a system that is capable of managing Local Resources/ services in a way that will help to raise the living standard of the citizens”.
Present at the ceremony is Olu of Warri kingdom, Ogiame Atuwatse III, and other top eminent personalities . The highpoints of the ceremony were the cultural dances from the Itsekiri and Urhobo cultural groups, among others.