Stakeholders praise DUG’s impact in Ika Federal Constituency

Stanley Ihedigbo

Stakeholders in the Ika Federal Constituency have expressed appreciation for the Delta Unity Group’s (DUG) impact in the area.

They explained that unwavering commitment to members’ welfare, persistent promotion of objective inclusivity and participatory democracy, and people-focused leadership anchored on equity, justice, fairness and other collaborative efforts are the secrets of the group’s great leap and significant inroads into Delta’s state political landscape.

Speaking recently in Agbor, Delta state, DUG stakeholders expressed satisfaction with the leadership style and operational modus operandi that exist within the group, especially in the area of prioritizing members’ welfare and infrastructural development of the Ika nation in Delta North Senatorial District.

The DUG members expressed gratitude to Chiedu Ebie, Chairman, Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), who also doubles as Co-convener of the group, for taking care of the welfare of the people of Ika land and for the numerous infrastructural projects he has attracted to the Ika Federal constituency.

According to them, DUG leaders in general and Chiedu Ebie, in particular, have engraved their names in the hearts of stakeholders of the DUG in the Federal Constituency and Ika people at large with life-changing projects he has brought to the town.

Said an excited DUG stakeholder in the area: “We have been members of different political parties and political structures in Ika Federal Constituency but we have never benefited or given the kind of treatment we are presently receiving as stakeholders of DUG.

“Here at DUG, every Ward Coordinator receives a monthly stipend. Others who are not holding any leadership position are not left out in this largess and we are confident that he will replicate a similar gesture in APC.

“We have never had it this good. We have stakeholders who have served in different political parties. Majorities of us came from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the experience has been the direct opposite”

According to DUG stakeholders in Ika North East Local Government Area, the majority of them were hitherto members of the PDP who gave their all but received nothing as a reward.

‘’We served one divisive and selfish emperor who made himself Lord of PDP not only in Ika Federal Constituency but in Delta state as a whole. When we finished serving him, he wanted us to also serve his daughter.

‘’He was treacherous in all his actions. He told us that there was a great dichotomy between Owa in Ika North East, and Agbor in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta whereas before he arrived in politics, we had lived as one united and indivisible Ika nation. What this self-acclaimed Messiah of Owa Kingdom in particular and Ika North East LGA in general could not do for us, his so-called brothers and sisters, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, a reformer, technocrat and a man from Ika South is effortlessly doing for us. We say enough is enough. We are out of slavery’’, a DUG member said.

In the areas of democratized infrastructural provision in the Ika Federal constituency, the group praised Mr. Ebie, describing him as a detribalized, focused and progressive Ika son who sees the two local governments as one and carters for their needs in like manner without favouritism and nepotism noting that the solar power street lights he attracted were equitably distributed in the whole of Ika Federal constituency.

They noted that on February 28, 2025, the NDDC Board Chairman gave impetus to his commitment to bettering the lives of the people when he inspected some ongoing NDDC-funded critical projects he attracted to the Ika Federal Constituency for the benefit of the people. Ebie, the DUG stakeholders recall, had assured during the inspection tour that the Commission would prioritize the people’s requests.

Some of these projects include: the ICT centre at the Faculty of Law, University of Delta (UNIDEL), Agbor, with modern computers and state-of-the-art infotech equipment, a construction project at the first phase of the failed portion of Umunede/Umutu Road by Pan Ocean Flow station, at Owa-Alidinma, Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, among others.

Arriving at the University of Delta, Mr Ebie and his entourage were received by the Institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stella Chinyere Chiemeke, alongside other principal staff of the University. The University’s Management expressed delight at the visit and NDDC’s contribution towards quality education delivery in a conducive environment. Professor Chiemeke specifically thanked Ebie for his good work and lauded the projects through the NDDC. “I have acknowledged your huge intervention projects through the NDDC in my speech delivered on the just concluded 4th Founder’s Day of the institution. We will continue to thank you, and as Oliver Twist, ask for more.

“For now, you have done enough for the Faculty of Law. I will appeal that you come to our aid in other areas such as providing the institution with buses. We are proud of you and your outstanding leadership quality at the NDDC. This is a testament to your track records”, the V.C. noted.

Mr. Ebie expressed joy over the completion of the installation of the ICT Centre as it will enhance learning. Ebie, a former Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, and former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), further assured the institution’s management that all their requests on behalf of the institution would always be granted, appealing to them at all times ensure a high standard of learning.

Ebie and his entourage later inspected the first phase of construction of a failed portion of Umunede/Umutu Road by Pan Ocean Flow station, Owa-Alidinma. The NDDC Governing Board Chairman appealed to the contractor to ensure that quality job is done in ways that will properly check flooding ravaging the area. He told newsmen that the exercise will continue through the long stretch of the road down to Ute Erumu where another major part of the road has reportedly collapsed.

Recall that in April 2024, during the second Founders Day celebration and fundraising for the Ika Language and Cultural Research Centre of the University of Delta, Ebie instituted a yearly award for the best graduating medical student at the University. According to him, the award by the family which would be reviewed after five years, is in honour of his late father, the pioneer Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospitals (UBTH), Professor John Ebie.