I Have What It Takes to Govern Delta State - Tony Obuh

He is relatively unknown in Delta politics but people who knew Mr. Tony Obuh have described him as a workaholic and an achiever who has served various governments meritoriously since the creation of Delta State. But today, Obuh, who people believe cannot hurt a fly has come out boldly to tell whoever cares to listen that he has all it takes to govern Delta State and turn its fortune around with his magic wand.

The aspirant, who has since quit his plum job as a super Permanent Secretary in the state civil service expresses confidence that he will be the next governor of the state under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In an interaction with Daily Sun in Warri, the Ika-born bureaucrat says big names does not matter anymore in today’s politics, insisting that the only ingredient required to win elections is one’s acceptability by the electorate.

Excerpts:

Why do you want to govern Delta State?

Well, I want to add value to the welfare of the people of the state. I mean, to groom the already developed Delta State that ranks among the best states in the federation.

Do you have the required experience to become a governor?

I will not fail to tell you that I am more experienced now than most of the people aspiring to be governor. The fact is that I am part of the philosophy that believes in Delta beyond oil programme. Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in his wisdom and by the super knowledgeable person he is, decided to come out with that philosophy of Delta Beyond Oil programme. If you really view it, you will agree with me that we don’t have to rely on oil alone; infact, we have to diversity and that is exactly what Governor Uduaghan is doing right now. This Delta Beyond Oil philosophy is to also enhance the rapid growth and development of our dear state.

It is no more secret that I have intimidating antecedents that can really catapult me to the Government House in 2015. There are people who respect my views both in government and outside government circle.

What are your chances of clinching your party’s ticket among other big names that are contesting for same?

In fact, I have the greatest respect for them but let me quickly add that in the present day politics, big names no longer count. You are respected and can be victorious with the quality of person you are. Gone are the days when big names are strong factors in the political diadem; however I don’t believe that anybody is more superior to me in this race.

Those people who think that I am still a green horn are making mistakes. The fact that I have not been coming out on the pages of newspapers does not mean that I don’t have contacts. I don’t have to be a newspaper tiger before I can win election. There are a lot of people who know my worth and I believe they will always support me at any time.

Five People Contract Ebola Every Hour in Sierra Leonne

Five people are being infected with Ebola every hour in Sierra Leone and demand for treatment beds is far outstripping supply, the Save the Children charity warned on Thursday.

If the current "terrifying" rate of infection continues, 10 people every hour will be infected with the deadly virus in the West African country by the end of October, the London-based organisation warned.

 

"The scale of the Ebola epidemic is devastating and growing every day, with five people infected every hour in Sierra Leone last week," Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said in a statement.

"We need a coordinated international response that ensures treatment centres are built and staffed immediately."

Nigerian President Notes Victories Over Islamic Extremists and Ebola on Independence Day

Celebrating recent victories over Ebola and Islamic extremists, President Goodluck Jonathan marked Nigeria's 54 years of independence from Britain on Wednesday.

Jonathan congratulated his government on successfully curtailing the Ebola crisis blamed for the deaths of eight people in Nigeria.

"This is how it should be: swift, effective and comprehensive action in defense of citizens," he said in a television broadcast to the nation.

But Jonathan's government has been criticized for not protecting citizens against an Islamic uprising that caught world attention when the insurgents kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls in April. Dozens escaped but none of the 219 missing have been rescued.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday that Nigeria appears to have contained the Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 3,000 people, most in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

No new cases have been reported in weeks in Nigeria, where the disease was carried by a Liberian-American diplomat who left a hospital in Monrovia, where he had exhibited Ebola symptoms, and flew to Nigeria. He infected 20 people in Lagos, Africa's largest city of 21 million people, and the oil capital of Port Harcourt.

Nigerian health workers tracked 894 people who had made contact with the diplomat and made some 18,500 face-to-face visits to monitor for Ebola symptoms, according to the CDC.

Jonathan urged vigilance on Nigerians, as officials continue to monitor arrivals at airports, ports and border posts.

He said his mood remains somber as he remembers all the souls lost to a 5-year-old Islamic uprising and its "crises of nationhood occasioned by the activities of terrorist elements who have done the unimaginable to challenge our unity as a people."

He made no mention of the missing schoolgirls, or his government's failure to rescue them.
Instead, Jonathan praised soldiers for "inflicting devastating blows at the heart of terror" in the uprising centered in the northeast though suicide and car bombs have killed hundreds of people in northern cities and the central capital, Abuja.

The Ministry of Defense and witnesses have reported that punishing bombing raids and ground attacks have repelled the insurgents and stopped them just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the northeast city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremists and headquarters of the military campaign.

But 12 soldiers were sentenced to death last month for mutiny, and dozens are to face a court-martial this month for alleged cowardice and refusing to act on orders to advance.

Jonathan is expected to run again in Feb. 14 presidential elections that promise to be the most competitive since decades of military dictatorship ended in 1999.

In campaign mode, Jonathan boasted of advances in agriculture that have reduced the nation's food import bill from $6.9 billion in 2009 to $4.35 billion.

He also touted his privatization of the power sector though that has yet to end chronic blackouts that boost costs for industries reliant on diesel-powered generators.

Jonathan looks a strong candidate despite a coalition opposition that now has more legislators than the governing party.

VConnect Deals For 2014 Sallah Celebration

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He said, "anyway I am going to try my best to do what I can to kip my family members happy by making sure we celebrate it"

The Journalist also interviewed many Muslim folks who confessed that they had nothing to celebrate with.

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Widow of Nigerian Ebola Victim also has Virus

The widow of a doctor who died from Ebola in Nigeria's oil city of Port Harcourt has also tested positive for the virus, the state government said on Sunday.

Rivers State health commissioner Sampson Parker said test results showed the woman had the disease, which claimed the life of her husband, Ike Enemuo, on 22 August.

Enemuo fell ill and died after treating an official from the Ecowas regional bloc who travelled to Port Harcourt after having contact with a Liberian man who brought the virus into Nigeria.

The doctor was the sixth to die from the virus in Nigeria and the first outside Lagos, raising fears about the spread of the haemorrhagic fever just as it was thought to have been contained.

Sampson said three patients - another doctor, a pharmacist and a woman who had contact with Enemuo at the hospital where he died - had been taken to a specialist treatment centre outside the city.
Enemuo's widow was at an isolation unit in Lagos, he added.

"They have not been confirmed (as having Ebola) and we are waiting for the result of the investigation," he told a news conference.

Some 200 primary and secondary contacts have been traced, although about 60 had yet to be spoken to, he added. None of them had shown symptoms, he said.

"We are concentrating on the names we have to capture in our (monitoring) activities but the good news is that we have been making good progress in checking the spread of Ebola," he said.

Parker said early detection and treatment was vital, appealing for anyone who had contact with Enemuo, his clinic, the Ecowas official or the hotel where he stayed to contact them immediately.

Of the 15 confirmed cases in Ebola, seven of the patients recovered, the government in Abuja has said.
The Ecowas official is also thought to have recovered.

Nigeria is one of five countries in West Africa hit by Ebola, although the majority of the more than 1 500 deaths since the start of the year have been in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.