Fejiro Oliver
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa appearance in the fishy area of Patani and Bomadi Local Government Areas for his campaign on Wednesday brought alive the political activities, as all roads led to the various venues of the mega campaign.
The campaign train which left Asaba at 8:21am (Nigerian Time) landed in the river area, where Okowa was well received by the people, who came out in their numbers to welcome him. Speaking to the people of Patani, he urged them to be peaceful in the course of their campaign and shun the politics of hatred.
Moving to Bomadi where the place was filled with the electorates waiting under the scorching sun just to hear the guber aspirant speak, many groups came to pledge their loyalty and support to him.
And when he finally showed up, mounted the stage and picked the microphone to speak at 2.32 pm (Nigerian Time), he told the crowd on how he contested for the 2007 gubernatorial election with the current governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, but lost out. He noted that God then told him not to bother as it was never his turn, but to wait till this time.
“In 2006, I thought it was my turn, but God said No. today it is my turn and my time”, he told the supporters who went wild with joy. He narrated how Barr. Kingsley Otuaro was asked to stop his ambition of contesting for the House of Assembly and he complied; and rather than going to another party to contest, he stayed with the party and has today become his running mate. He pleaded that all aspirants who lost should be patient as they will be rewarded someday once it’s their turn.
He promised to build a mini stadium in Bomadi as one of his first projects if elected a governor. He also told the people on his intention to complete the hospital being built in the State if given the mandate to lead the State.
In his usual manner, he raised his voice to God to sing ‘I’m standing on the rock’, and he blessed them.