*Delta Govt Denies A Hand, But Justifies Action
THE Delta State government has justified the arrest of a man protesting in a viral video online by bathing in a pool of water from unabated flooding in the middle of the popular Shell Road in Sapele ostensibly as a result of its deplorable stat which he likening to a “swimming pool.”
In the TikTok video, the man directly called out Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and Eugene (the local government chairman), over their inability to construct the road and for giving the residents a swimming pool, rather than build road for them, saying: “Governor Sheriff, former Governor Okowa, you have failed us. Look at the road; it is like a pool.”
The man, putting on a yellow underwear, otherwise known as “boxer,” took an orange colour bucket to the flooded road where he took his bath, saying: “Ehe, you know say Sheriff and the local government chairman dem no gree do road for us.
“So, the swimming pool wen dem do for us so, I wan really appreciate dem for this swimming pool wen dem do for us.
“So, the swimming pool wey dem do so, we appreciate, I wan baff,” took soap and his bathing sponge and started bathing with the dirty water.
He added: “Dem no gree do road. So, the swimming pool wey dem do for us so, we appreciate them. Sheriff, Eugene, una try. Sheriff una try O, Eugene, God bless you.
“God bless all of una. Okowa, anywhere you dey, God bless you. Okowa, you try for building swimming pool. Okowa, you no gree do road, alright.
“Una no gree do roads, Sheriff, God bless you. Okowa, God be with you, Eugene, God bless you, una try. Okowa, God bless you for this swimming pool, Sheriff, una good, una thank you oooo.”
He then walked out of the pool of water in the trending three minutes, 28 seconds video depicting infrastructural decay in the oil-rich state, despite huge revenue from federal allocations.
His arrest over the video, ostensibly at the instance of the state government, has attracted public condemnation, with many questioning the rationals, saying his action was only intended to draw attention for the road to be fixed.
Though the state government denied any hand in the arrest, it, however, but said the action was justified.
Director General of Delta State Orientation and Communications Bureau, Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, on Sunday, October 6, said: “The trending video of a young man bathing in dirty road water is distasteful and should not be encouraged by any right thinking individual.
“Bathing in contaminated water can cause certain health problems, including skin irritation caused by contact with small larvae called cercarias, eye, ear and throat infections, among others. This is not the right way or strategy to attract government attention.
“Government is investing heavily on quality healthcare for our people and it is very unfair for one of our brothers to bath in dirty road water without considering the possible health hazards. He must never do that again.
“His subsequent arrest was never at the instance of the state governor. The law enforcement agents may have interpreted the actions of the young man to mean suicide attempt, which is against the Law.
“Anything could have happened to him while taking his bath in dirty road water. It is a wrong strategy to protest or attract government attention.”
He added: “Governor Oborevwori is currently paying adequate attention to roads in Sapele local government area, and the other 24 local government areas in the state. The MORE Agenda implementation will go round the three senatorial districts.
“Government cannot handle all the dilapidated or bad roads at the same time; they shall be rehabilitated and reconstructed along with other categories of infrastructure in phases across the state.
“Governor Oborevwori is working round the clock to advance Delta beyond 2027, and it is only fair to join hands with him to bring unprecedented development to our dear state.”
(Photo Credit: News Net)
