Delta State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged President-Generals of ethnic nationalities to be involved in maintaining peace in their areas to provide the enabling environment for investments to thrive.

The Governor made the call on Wednesday at Asaba when the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) led by Olorogun Moses Taiga paid him a courtesy visit.

"We as a government definitely understand the importance of the Urhobo nation in the state and I believe that we will continue to accord respect to them and to work with the UPU to ensure the needed partnership just as we will continue to work with other ethnic nationalities and their leaderships to ensure greater peace and unity in our state," the Governor said, adding, "we are very much aware of the warm relationships that we keep as a state with all ethnic nationalities because it is better for us as a people and as a state, once there is peace we are definitely going to have greater resources and also greater development including attracting investors to our dear state."

He continued, "I want to appreciate the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) for your support in supporting this administration, particularly in the area of helping to organize our communities to ensure that we live in a very peaceful atmosphere; I believe that the Urhobo nation has done so well in achieving that and we have not had any great challenges apart from the land issue concerning Aladja and Ogbe-Ijaw communities which is being resolved."

"We want to also take note of the attendance of the Urhobo national day; I am glad that we have such an event because it helps us as a state to communicate with our people as part of the partnership building, because every Deltan should participate in governance and the more we involve the people in the processes of governance the more we will be able to receive their views and be able to pass information to them and the better it will be for us as a state," Governor Okowa stated, adding, "when people are well informed, the wrong news will actually be reduced to the barest minimum."

The Governor who thanked the UPU for bestowing on him the title, Ochuko Ru Urhobo (Helper to Urhobo Nation), emphasized that it was important for Deltans to be well informed about the activities of government, disclosing, "that is why you will also find that in the course of time we have been going to townhall meetings with our people in various local governments areas, stakeholder's meetings and we have realized that it is something we need to continue because the interactive sessions with our people has helped us to build greater confidence and greater partnerships and I will continue to urge other government functionaries to try to cascade these townhall meetings down to the various wards and communities to build greater confidence and partnership between government and the people."

Olorogun Taiga had in an address said the visit was to thank the Governor for the achievements recorded by his administration in Urhoboland.

While listing out some of the development projects executed by the Governor Okowa's administration in Urhoboland, Delta Central Senatorial District, the President-General said it was resolved that they confer on him, the title of Ochuko Ru Urhobo (Helper of Urhobo Nation) on him.

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