LAGOS FEBRUARY 24TH (URHOBOTODAY)-This year’s event of Agbon Kingdom Day second anniversary held at Isiokolo, the headquarters of Ethiope-East local government area of Delta state will linger on in the memory of the indigenes of Agbon kingdom and those opportune to be part of the great event.

It will be an event to remember because the “Who is Who” in Delta State were present in the great occasion. This include the Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Speaker Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Monday Igbuya, General Obada (RTD), Professor Oyovbaire, President of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Olorogun Moses Taiga, traditional rulers from all part of the state, Commissioners and other important dignitaries among others.
Before the event proper, cultural dancers which include acrobatic dancers, different kind of masquerades , Ema and Eghweya dancers among other took over the occasion organized on Saturday at the palatial palace of the Ovie of Agbon Kingdom , HRM Ogurimerime, the Ukori 1.

As Okowa and other important dignitaries arrived at the venue of the event which was about to kick off, a black jeep drove into the centre of the arena. The manner at which security personnel escorted the tinted vehicle into the centre of the event raised suspicion about the importance of the occupant of the vehicle mostly when the Governor was already seated.

No sooner had the vehicle came to a halt almost at the front of the dignitaries table when the occupant stepped out and the shout of ‘Odidigboigboi’ rented the air. And who was that, but former Governor of Delta State Chief Onanefe James Ibori.

The whole activities in the bustling arena came to a total halt. All those present in the occasion left whatever they were doing to pay attention to James Ibori. The cultural dancers increased their dancing steps while singing praises of Ibori. The venue became charged. Everybody were dancig towards the direction of Ibori while singing his praises. It took security personel tough time to keep the surging crowd under control. The musician changed his tune of music to praise singing of Ibori. Even the Master of Ceremonies present were not left out as they all poured encomium on Ibori. Everyone want to have a glimpse of the man whom they have missed for several years.

No doubt, the sudden appearance of Chief James Ibori, at the 2017 Agbon Day celebration, at the weekend, sparked off hope and assurance of better days ahead for the indigenes of the kingdom.
Although Ibori was said to have been duly invited to the event, his teeming supporters at Isiokolo in Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state, were taken by surprise. The occasion was Ibori’s first public outing, two weeks after he was set free from a London jail.
Little did the kingdom, which organised a grand reception for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, know that Ibori’s presence would steal the show.
The crowd of supporters was unmindful of Governor Okowa as they hailed the former governor, sing his praises and threw their weight behind him.

Delivering his welcome speech, Chairman of the event , Chief Johnson M Barovbe who was elated to welcome the dignitaries to the grand reception organized for the Executive Governor of Delta State, Senator IfeanyiOkowa and the Second Agbon Day Anniversary said the simple reason for their joy is that Asaba government seems to have totally forgotten or neglected Agbon Kingdom for so many years and they felt that this is an opportunity for Agbon indigenes to request for some amenities directly from the Governor.

Barovbe said there is nothing to show that Agbon Kingdom is part of the oil rich Delta State hence there are no industries, no presence of government tertiary educational institution and no single financial institutions i.e. commercial banks and micro-finance banks in the community.
Hear him,“Apart from the only road that was constructed by Chief James Onanefe Ibori’s government, virtually there is nothing to show that Agbon Clan is part of Delta State. Therefore, Your Excellency, Governor IfeanyiOkowa, your coming to Agbon Kingdom is timely and a welcome relief.
“Today we want to ask or do I say demand? No, we want to make a humble request from our Governor for one higher educational institution that will cater for our teeming youths. It is not a University, but we are in need of a School of Nursing to be sited and built in any of the towns in Agbon Clan.

“Yes, people may say there is a school of nursing at Eku, but is it owned by the state government? That school is owned by Christian Missionary and controlled by Baptist Church. We want a fully fledged school of nursing owned and control by the state government in our community. The School of Nursing we are requesting for will award Diploma in Nursing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria,” he disclosed.
Addressing Agbon politicians, Barovbe observed that Agbon people appear disappointed because Agbon Kingdom is in the dark ages hence the community has no electricity supply for the past two years. He appealed to them to get themselves together and resolve the electricity problem facing the community.

“We therefore call on the Chairperson of Ethiope- East Local Government Area, Chief (Mrs) Faith Majemite, Chief Lovett Idisi representing us at the Federal House of Representative and Chief Evans Iwurie representing us at the Delta State House of Assembly, Asaba to come together and settle BEDC issues so as to resolve the light problem before April 18th, 2017,” he appealed.

Barovbe who poured encomium on the King of Agbon, Ukori 1 said his four year reign on the throne as the King of Agbon Kingdom has brought a lot of differences and progress in outlook and execution of projects in the Kingdom.
He explained that by the time the King spend thirty years on the throne, his name will be among the greatest monarchs in the world.
Barovbe appealed to Agbon youths on the need to be peaceful and law abiding, adding that environment where kidnapping, raping, assassination and robbery thrive can never envisage development.
Ovie of Agbon Kingdom, HRM Ukori 1 applauded Okowa’s decision to complete, rehabilitate and construct several roads in the Kingdom including the Okpara Inland to Samagida and Ekreravwe through Orhuarakpor to Isokoro road among others.

The Monarch who condemned the extortion of consumers by electricity providers, called on the federal government to open the power sector and all illegal impediments that prevent foreign experts from participating actively in the provision of electricity
He enjoined the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the power sector, restructure the sector and seek foreign expert intervention in generation and distribution of electricity supply to his people.
Responding to the request of Agbon monarch and that of Chief Barovbe, Delta State Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Okowa revealed that the Eku Baptist Hospital has been taking over by the Delta State government, adding that there is no possibility of establishing two nursing school in one local government area.
Hear him, “It will even be very difficult to convince the Ministry and Nursing Council to approve another Nursing School in the same local government . It is a very unlikely thing because there is a process of approval. So what we will do is to ensure that we enhance the level of development that is already existing in the School of Nursing in Eku. I will do that in the course of time.
“Concerning electricity supply and darkness that we have at the moment, everyone has a role to play. Sometime truth could be very bitter, but we must realize that we have a role to play. Fortunately or unfortunately, the distribution of electricity is in the private hand. BEDC that is in charge is a private sector company. We cannot prevent them from not collecting their fees at the end of the month. But what we have to do as government is to ensure that people are not cheated. We are consistently liaising with them to ensure that they are able to provide meters for our people. As a responsible government, we will not allow them to cheat you.”