(PRESS STATEMENT)
The ambition of former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Bayelsa State, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, to represent Ogbia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives received a major boost on Friday from ten communities in the Local Government Area.
The communities include; Otuegwe 2, Ibelebiri, Oruma, Otuesega, Imiringi, Elebele, Emeyal 1, Emeyal 2, Kolo 1, Kolo 2 and Kolo 3.
Members of the communities, which make up constituency 3, declared their total support for the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), when he led his campaign team to visit them.
The jubilant crowd made up of men, women and youths, said from their assessment, Iworiso-Markson is far and above all other candidates and will best serve their collective interest.
They stated that their open endorsement was a clear evidence of the confidence they have in his capacity to deliver after listening to his message of a New Deal to help turn around the fortunes of Ogbia.
According to them, the message of providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in Ogbia, his resolve to create wealth through SMEs to support mostly women and farmers by providing them with resources through various agricultural schemes and projects resonated with them.
In his remarks Iworiso-Markson, lamented about the poor state of infrastructure and acute under development in Ogbia, which he said cannot continue.
The SDP candidate said the Late Chief Melford Okilo, an icon of Ogbia Kingdom will be turning in his grave because of how low Ogbia has fallen due to bad leadership and the unbridled greed of its political elites.
He said: “Today, we are suffering from the consequences of bad leadership and poor decisions made by government decades ago since our hero Okilo passed. It is so pathetic that in this present day Ogbia, not one stone has been put on top of the solid foundation Okilo laid to radically transform the infrastructural landscape of Ogbia over 40 years ago.
“Nothing is working in Ogbia. There’s complete absence of government in Ogbia. No good roads, no water, no light, there’s endemic poverty, and our people are suffocating and going through untold hardship. Worst of it all, Ogbia’s unity which was once a thing of pride is in total disarray. Every community in Ogbia is divided from the traditional institutions down to the youths. Community infighting over kingship is the order of the day.
“The question we should be asking ourselves is how did we get here? How did it get so bad that we cannot even live peacefully among ourselves? Are we cursed? Ogbia sure need deliverance and there can be no better time than now to vote for credible persons into leadership to unleash fresh air on Ogbia.”
Iworiso-Markson again used the occasion to present himself to the people and solicited for their votes in the February 25 elections to emerge as the next House of Representatives member for Ogbia.
The community campaign train will continue on Monday to constituency 1 and 2 according to the Director General of the Iworiso-Markson Campaign Council, Mr. Kopi Macaulay Wongo.
He said the successful flag off of the campaign is indicative of the fact that Ogbia people are yearning for change.
“The people are eager to embrace the fresh air and victory for our candidate is assured come February 25”, he said.
