Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has congratulated Nigerians on the country’s 64th Independence anniversary, but urged all to work in unity to surmount the economic and security challenges facing the country.
The Governor made the call in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, on Tuesday in Asaba.
He said Nigerians should work in unison, irrespective of political, religious and ethnic diversities, to ensure the nation overcame its present challenges.
He sent felicitations to President Bola Tinubu, the people of Delta and other Nigerians on this year’s Independence anniversary.
He urged the citizens to support the government’s efforts at salvaging the nation from insecurity and economic downturn.
“On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I congratulate Nigerians as we celebrate the 64th anniversary of our country’s independence.
“As a country, we have been privileged to enjoy uninterrupted democracy since 1999 and it is imperative we continue to work hard in building on the gains of the last 25 years of unbroken democratic rule.
“October 1st is a day to celebrate and pay tribute to our country men and women who sacrificed so that we can celebrate this day; we should never forget the sacrifices of our heroes past.
“At 64, Nigeria has come a long way despite economic, security and political setbacks; it is important we remain strong, exercise patience and be of good faith in God and our nation’s leaders at this critical period”, he said.
Oborevwori added, “as an administration, it is on record that we have recorded significant strides in the implementation of our MORE Agenda aimed at making life more meaningful for the people of Delta since we came on board on 29th May, 2023.
“As we celebrate this year’s independence anniversary, be assured that we will remain focused on delivering our agenda to the people of Delta”.

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has inaugurated the cultivation of 2,000 hectares of commercial maize cultivation in Odukpani Local Government Area through the state government’s Project Grow Initiative.
Performing the inauguration, Otu said his plan was to help Cross River farmers increase their revenue over middlemen who bought off their produce and sold at a higher prices without going through the pains of the farmers.
The Tide’s reports that Project Grow is a market driven initiative aimed at stimulating private sector investment in key agricultural value chains such as maize, rice, cassava, aquaculture and animal fodder.
Represented by Mrs. Glory Effiong, Accountant General of the state, the governor said the initiative was designed to curb food insecurity and create sustainable economy in the state by having farmers cultivate and companies like Flour Mills off-take.
He said the project was a testament to what resilience could achieve, as the occasion was symbolic to celebrate the commencement of mechanical planting of maize over a commercial area of 2,000 hectares.
“It is expected that after six years, this project will allow the market players in each of the value chain to understand themselves and engage independently while bringing our people into the money system to tackle multidimensional poverty.
“It is my dream that every resident of Cross River will live above poverty line because the Nigerian economy has shown a wide gap between the rich and the poor but this initiative aims to bridge it”, he said.
The Director of Project Grow, Mr Dennis Ikpali, said in the past, farmers in the state planted maize at subsistence level but Project Grow was helping the them commercialise the whole process by cultivating 2,000 hectares of land.
Ikpali said the maize acquired by Project Grow was early maturing, high yielding, disease and drought resistant with the capacity of producing four tons of maize per hectare.
“This means that within four months of planting, the 2,000 hectares of land has the capacity to generate 8,000 tons of maize.
“And by market computation, where a ton of maize is N600,000, we are looking at 10 to N12 billion income flowing through the system”, he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Mary Ayi, who was given a hectare, said she used to plant cassava but was ready to go into commercial cultivation of maize because of its shorter duration.
She added that she would plough back whatever she got to enlarge her farm.
Another indigene of Odukpani, Nsa Okon, said he was quite satisfied with the implementation process of Project Grow urging those yet to receive their portions to be patient as the implementation was in phases.
The source also reports that for effective cultivation of the land, each farmer would receive N1 million loan from partner commercial banks and upon harvesting, the maize would be off-taken by Flour Mills Nigeria, another key partner of the project.

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has said he would soon engage the citizens in a strategic town hall meeting to dialogue on the challenges facing each local government in the state.
The Governor disclosed this when the State Executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), led by Rev. Lucky Osagbakhoe, visited him at the Government House, Asaba.
He said the town hall meeting would be part of his administration’s strategic engagements with the people.
He told CAN that the State Government had earmarked N1 billion for roads in each of the 25 LGA in the state in the 2024 budget.
He lauded the leadership of CAN for the visit, adding that it was an eloquent testament to the strong partnership between the government and faith-based organisations in the state.
He commended the fathers of faith for their steadfastness and the commitment of church leaders who had continued to uphold the government and the people of the state in their prayers and supplications to God.
According to him, the prayers of the Church have been a stabilising force for the government of Delta.
On the town hall meetings, he said, “We know it is necessary and we are doing a lot to touch all the local government areas so that when we hold the town hall meetings, we have things to showcase to them.
“A lot of projects are ongoing across the state and in each local government area, we made the provision of not less than N1 billion in the 2024 budget for road construction”.
Also, on high cost of living, the governor said that his administration had been doing a lot of empowerment programmes in the past few months.
“A few weeks ago, we did the MORE grant where we empowered 5,000 persons.
“A few days ago, too, we flagged off the distribution of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs to over 6,000 persons in Delta State.
“The hard times we are facing now are not peculiar to Delta state, but when you compare what we are doing in Delta with other states and with our huge workforce, you will see that we are doing our best.
“We are doing a lot of engagements because if we were not doing that, during the last EndBadGovernance protest, you would have seen something different.
“This is because Delta State was among the flash point states that was expected to have problems.
“We could see that there was no protest here yesterday because we are dialoguing and we believe in dialogue, rather than confrontation.
“I want to solicit again that you continue to put the government, both at the national and sub-national levels, in prayers because, prayers are very necessary for leaders to focus on how to provide good governance for the people”, he said.
Osagbakhoe congratulated Oborevwori on his victory at the 2023 gubernatorial poll and subsequent victories at various courts.
He said that CAN, as an association, had been in existence for many years and had made useful contributions to the peace, progress, unity and the development of the state.
He applauded the governor for his administration’s urban renewal drive, especially through road construction and reconstruction.
He said that members of the association were pleased with the infrastructural development initiative of his administration.
“We, also, like to acknowledge your administration’s peace building efforts, economic recovery and social safety nets and many other development in the state”, he said.
He, however, urged the governor to hold town hall meetings in the three senatorial districts of the state to enable him feel the pulse of the people.