Udu PG, Emaduku congratulates Oborevwori on successful swearing-in
…Pledges sincere loyalty to Udu Monarch
By Okorohohi Michael, Warri
The new President General of the Union of Udu Communities, Mr Austin Emaduku has facilitated with the Governor of Delta State, His Excellency, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori on his successful inauguration as the 5th elected governor of Delta state describing the Ukodo of Okpe Kingdom as a man of destiny.
Emaduku, who was elected and sworn-in by 21 out of the 32 Udu communities and their delegates on Saturday, stated this in his maiden address to Udu people shortly after subscribing to the oath of office as President General of the Union.
He expressed delight with his election and promised to work with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and other organs of government to attract development to Udu.
Mr Emaduku noted that Udu had had a long-standing relationship with Okpe people having been in same local government council for many years before the creation of Udu and Okpe council areas in 1996, stressing that he attended same Aladja Grammar School with the governor and had also worked in Okpe as a civil servant for years.
‘’I am an Okpe by association and I will leverage on my relationship with the Okpe people to draw the attention of the new administration to the challenges facing my Udu people. The Governor is my personal friend and I am delighted to be part of the process that brought him to power. I am deeply fascinated to see a personal friend emerge Governor of Delta State. On behalf of the entire Udu people, I extend warm congratulations to His Excellency, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, the Executive Governor of Delta State’’, he said.
The President General also expressed appreciation to the Udu monarch, HRM Barr E.B.O Delekpe JP for the confidence in his capacity to lead Udu which, he said, the monarch expressed when he consulted him twice before resolving to enter the contest.
‘’I got the assurances of the monarch before deciding to contest for the position of President General of UUC. He assured me that he was behind me because I was capable of leading the Union. He also assured me that there was going to be election since he found all those interested in the race worthy of serving Udu. He assured further that he was not going to interfere in the process. If he had said otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered to enter the race. That was why I decided not to listen to those who were dropping the name of our highly revered monarch in trying to dissuade me from the race because of their selfish interest.
‘’The Udu monarch is a man of integrity who will say a word and stand by it. He assured me the delegates will decide the winner because he saw no encumbrances in any of the two candidates. The screening committee also approved of election for us. But when my opponent saw defeat staring him in the face, his handlers started dropping the name of the monarch to dissuade me from the race but thank God I survived all their shenanigans. All is well that ends well. Today I am President General of the Union of Udu Communities by the grace of God, the goodwill of the Udu Monarch and the Ovie-In-Council and support from the Udu communities’ presidents and delegates.
‘’I hereby return the glory to God Almighty. I thank the King for his fatherly disposition. May I also thank the presidents of the various Udu communities for standing by me throughout the period of preparations for the Annual Congress. I specially wish to give due appreciation to the entire Egini community for standing by me so strongly. I cannot fail to appreciate Chief Oghene-Aga Andrew Orugbo, the Udugba of Udu Kingdom and former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, who was Chairman of the 2023 Annual Congress for openly speaking against subterraneous plans by mischief makers to subvert the will of the people.
‘’Without the people there is no Udu or Udu Kingdom. Every leader must feel the pulse of the people in taking decisions. Udu have decided on whom to follow as President General of UUC. I appeal to all those who are aggrieved to sheathe their swords and work for the peace, progress and unity of Udu Kingdom. I want to particularly place on record my deep appreciation for members of the Udu Council of Chiefs and the Udu Traditional Council many of whom gave me their generous support all through the period. Time will not permit me to mention names but I am grateful to you all’’, he added.
Mr Austin Emaduku also promised to address the press shortly to roll out his action plans and the roadmap to achieving them in order to restore the Udu era of unmitigated progress under the legendary Chief W.T Odibo.
