Middle is Rt Hon Basil Ganagana Commissioner for Transport who represented the Senator Dr Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa at the CCP Ingathering Prayer summit in Effurun Delta State.
*Launches TruthPath magazine
By Onoriode Etatsemi.
Effurun,the administrative headquarters of Uvwie local government area of Delta was a beehive of activities as Christian group, known as ( Christian Community Platform CCP)from across the 25 local government area of the state thronged the Great Anointing Favour Bible Church Int, inc. Effurun, to pray for the nation and Delta State in particular.
It was a unique moment as Deltans in one voice, prayed for the economic and social restructuring of the country. Effective implementation of the anti open grazing law that has been signed into law by the Delta government was a prayer point. They also prayed for the faithful implementation of the Petroleum industrial bill (PIB ), now Act.
Prayers were also said that a good structure should be be put in place to create room for the availability of financial and human resources. They prayed too that the National Assembly should bow to the wishes of Nigerians to legislate laws that will give power for full blown electronic voting and transmission of all election results. Men of God equally went on their knees to pray for the Governor and his entire household including every Deltan. CCP members and other Christians in the state were not left out as they were equally beneficiaries of the blessings of God through prayers.
The Governor at the epoch making event, said “it gives me pleasure to be part of this ingathering prayer/political sensitization summit and official public presentation of the Christian Community Platform (CCP) Christian news magazine known as the ‘TRUTHPATH.’ There is no doubt that our nation needs persistent prayers to address the myriads of challenges facing us as a people. ”
The governor who was represented at the prayer summit by his Transport Commissioner, Rt.Hon Basil Ganagana said, ” We need divine intervention to deal with the problems of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminalities as well as religious, ethnic bigotry, corruption and the economic crisis occasioned by the pandemic.
I am particularly happy that this platform was established to promote national peace, development and good governance. Without national peace, we cannot achieve meaningful development. Today in our country, there are several agitations from different geopolitical zones because of perceived and obvious injustice and marginalization. However, to achieve peace, we must deliberately pursue justice, fairness and equity in order to give everybody equal opportunity to aspire to any office in the land and to ensure that the distribution of resources is in line with the principle of derivation.
“Development and good governance are two sides of the same coin: without good governance, development in all its ramifications becomes a mirage. Therefore, the political sensitization summit of this organization will become pivotal in our quest to mobilize citizens on the need to go a step further from just registering as a voter to joining a political party of their choice so as to sanitize the leadership recruitment process in our nation. As you all know, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced new technologies and will further inject new technologies in the management of our electoral system in the country. It is incumbent upon this organization to collaborate with other similar bodies to carry out sensitization campaigns of the church as we approach the new election circle. ”
“Furthermore, as you launch the CCP Christian news magazine known as THE TRUTHPATH today, it is my hope that the CCP will use the instrumentality of the magazine to reach out to our different congregations to see the need for a united body to pursue a common agenda of promoting peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic and religious groups as well as promote development and good governance in the country. It is also my expectation that the magazine will be used to galvanize Christians into more participation in politics. The Bible in Matthew 9: 5 describes Christians as the light of the world and a city built on a hill that cannot be ignored or hidden. The more Christians get involved in politics, the better for our nation because Proverbs 29:2 says when the righteous rule, the people rejoice but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
On this note, on behalf of the people and government of Delta state, I feel highly honored by the award of excellence in wealth creation, resources prudent management and peaceful governance. In my inaugural address on 29th May, 2015, I declared the commitment of my administration to the building of a State in which there shall be gainful employment opportunities, a flourishing agribusiness sector, effective health and educational systems, renewed urban infrastructure and enhanced security that would bolster economic growth and prosperity for all Deltans”
These promises formed the plank upon which the SMART Agenda of my administration is predicated.
In the first four years of this administration, over 4,253 STEPreneurs & YAGEPreneurs in three training cycles were produced from 2015 to 2018, while 20,334 youths were trained and established by Government through technical and vocational education and agriculture. These interventions are products from the Job Creation Programme which was established by this Administration in 2015. These various empowerment and wealth creation were applauded by the World Bank/European Union SEEFOR which led to their support of the 2017/2018 cycle of the schemes while the Tony Elumelu Foundation also pledged financial support of the projects. Widows from across the length and breadth of the state are also been empowered to engage them in the small, micro and medium term enterprises of the state government. ” He added
The Governor continued, as he said, “2019/2020 programme cycle alone covered 814 youths comprising 569 under STEP, 245 under YAGEP, and 25 persons with disabilities (PwDs). It is worthy of note that no fewer than 85 unemployed graduates also benefited from the job-readiness capacity building activities under the Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP). Majority of those trained have already received their starter packs and shop rent support. All these job creation strategies in the state were designed by the government to productively engage, economically empower and transform the youths of Delta from job seekers to job creators. More of these platforms including that of the ICT are currently ongoing to build the capacities of our teeming youths to prepare them for the challenges ahead. It is on record that our empowerment program earned Delta state the BEST STATE IN HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT.
I am therefore excited that CCP has recognized the modest efforts of this administration through this award. I can assure you that this gesture will further spur us to work more assiduously to ensure a better life for our citizens. I therefore thank the leadership of CCP for finding me worthy of this award. Thank you and God bless you all.
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