Governor's aide resigns, gives reason

Harrison Gwamnishu, the senior special assistant on Civil Society and Youth Mobilisation to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, has resigned his appointment.

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Mr Gwamnishu, in his resignation letter dated 25 April and addressed to Mr Oborevwori, cited the security situation in the oil-rich South-south state as the reason for his resignation.

He said he had brought the issue to the governor’s attention, but Mr Oborevwori did not address it.

“Despite numerous messages, calls, blueprint documents aimed at addressing these pressing concerns, have all been thrown out, I have come to the unfortunate realisation that meaningful solutions are not being accepted by your administration.

“As a civil rights leader, I accepted this appointment as a commitment to serve and protect our community. However, the continuous escalation of insecurity and the persistent lack of action to provide effective resolutions have rendered me unable to fulfil my duties with the integrity and effectiveness that I believe are essential.

“My commitment to the safety and well-being of our communities remains unwavering, but my agitation is that these crucial issues on insecurity ought to be prioritised. It is my hope that my resignation will drive the urgent need for action and inspire a renewed focus on the safety of our citizens,” he said in the resignation letter posted on Facebook.

Governor’s aide responds

When contacted, Mr Gwamnishu listed “kidnapping and robbery” as areas of insecurity that the governor has not addressed despite drawing his attention to it.

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But Charles Aniagwu, the Delta State commissioner for works (rural roads) and public information, told this newspaper in an interview on Tuesday that Mr Gwamnishu is a junior appointee and would not know what the government is doing in terms of security.

“The level of appointment where he is, is not the level that he would know what is happening in the security sector,” he said.

He is a very junior person in government and cannot say that the governor did not explain to him. Is he a member of the security council or state executive council?” he queried, adding that so much is being done by the state government to tackle insecurity.

“The state government has provided over 60 vehicles for security men. Other (security) communication gadgets that we have provided for security. Is he not aware of them?

“That means he is even farther away from what is going on in government. Other areas where you have insecurity, how many people are resigning?”

Security situation in Delta State

There have been several cases of kidnappings and other crimes, including killings, in Delta State despite the efforts of security agencies.

The police last month killed five suspected members of a kidnap syndicate in the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Bright Edafe, said the suspects were killed during a shootout with the operatives of the CP-Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT) inside the Uwiamughe forest in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta.

This newspaper last year reported that gunmen kidnapped nine students travelling along the East-West Road in Ughelli, Delta State. The students were later freed.

Mr Edafe said the students were returning from their school in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, when they were abducted from the minibus they were travelling in.

The students were kidnapped about a week after gunmen killed six police operatives in the state.

This newspaper also reported the killing of 17 soldiers by suspected residents of the Okuama community in the state, a development that led to the burning of houses in the community.