Governor Oborevwori’s Visit: A Slap on the Face of Udu People, Not a Salve
By: Comrade Augustine O Akaba
Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 should have been a turning point for Udu if the man we all worked for truly cares, if the leaders truly are not cowards and have the guts to demand that the cry of their people be heard. A long-awaited opportunity for the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, to listen directly to the people’s cries, acknowledge their suffering, and announce urgent action to reverse years of visible neglect.
Instead, it turned into a performance of political theatre, staged to drown the truth in applause, and to falsely declare Udu as “adequately compensated.” It is indeed a very sad and shameful day for Udu.
Then the question that we must ask is, in what way is Udu adequately compensated as acclaimed by the Governor?
1. An Insult Disguised as Inspection
The Governor’s visit to inspect the Udu Harbour Market was not the issue — the issue is what he chose to ignore while there:
The protest of Udu residents against bad roads, poor education and healthcare, and the lack of infrastructure was dismissed without empathy.
The core developmental grievances of Udu people were waved off by pointing to a handful of selective projects:
Opete Road, which he frequently plies himself — done more out of self-convenience than community concern.
The road at Ogbe-Ijoh, which primarily benefits Ogbe-Ijoh, not Aladja.
Usiefrun Road, which favors Ughelli South far more than Orhuwhorun.
None of these reflect a deliberate or strategic investment in Udu’s development. These are token gestures misrepresented as transformation.
2. Applause Over Accountability: A Betrayal by Udu Leaders
Perhaps the most painful aspect of today’s event was not just the Governor’s tone-deaf remarks, but the conduct of Udu’s political leaders and so-called stakeholders.
Instead of speaking up, they clapped.
Instead of presenting the people’s pains, they nodded in agreement.
Instead of defending the Udu mandate, they chose party loyalty over community reality.
This is betrayal in its purest form. And it must never be forgotten.
3. The Governor’s Words Reveal His True Posture Toward Udu
When a leader claims he has “done well for Udu,” while Udu communities still:
Travel on death-trap roads (Udu-Road, Orhuwhorun – Owhrode – Otor Udu Road, Oleri – Egiegi no access road, Mofor & Tipper Garage)
Have a dead hospital handed off to the Federal Government due to state failure,
Possess no single tertiary institution or technical college, then that leader is either disconnected from reality or deliberately ignoring the truth.
His refusal to acknowledge decades of structural neglect reveals an administration that is not only deaf to the voice of Udu people but hardened against their plight.
Udu must rise and say:
No more leaders who fear to challenge injustice.
No more praise-singers while our youths remain unemployed and our women underserved.
No more empty promises wrapped in PR speeches.
Conclusion: The Ukodo Government Has Turned Its Back on Udu
Let the records show that on this day, when Udu hoped to be heard, Governor Oborevwori chose to defend his record rather than review it. He chose to dismiss justified protests, and he chose to surround himself with applause rather than accountability.
This is not just a sad day — it is a clarifying day. A day that exposed where this government truly stands when it comes to Udu: on the opposite side of development.
But Udu is not broken. Udu is awakening. And come 2027, Udu will speak through the ballot what its leaders failed to say with their mouths.
Comrade Augustine O Akaba, a concerned Udu Indigene, writes from Udu
