…As Bomadians celebrate electricity supply from National Grid after a decade of outage
By Cletus Opukeme, Bomadi
The executive chairman of Bomadi local government area of Delta State, Hon. Rawlings Dagidi Andaye, has showered Christmas gifts worth millions of naira to civil servants, the vulnerable and all communities in the council area to enable Bomadians celebrate the festive period, which is in commemoration of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is just as Bomadians and indigenes of neighbouring communities in Patani, Burutu and Ughelli South local government areas of Delta State erupted in celebrations as the Andaye-led administration reconnected the area to the National Grid after a decade of wallowing in darkness.
Andaye, sharing the Christmas gifts such as rice, cash gifts and other items to civil servants, individuals and various communities, averred that Bomadians deserved to smile and celebrate in the midst of celebrations all over the world, stressing that the Lord had been good and faithful to the people in their fervent prayers and supplications for good governance over the years.
*We’ve Come Back to Life Again—Bomadians
Celebrating the Christmas vis-a-vis the area’s reconnection to the national grid, elated indigenes expressed the belief that hope had come back the through the Andaye administration.
Mr Akpoebi Stanley, a generator mechanic, who expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the council chairman over the light, said: “Our chairman has done very well for us and we appreciate his good works. We have been suffering in darkness for a very long time but when this young man took over leadership of the council area, things changed for the better. We are currently enjoying the light and kudos to our able chairman”.
Former councillor in Bomadi Ward 2, Hon. Manager Bofede, in his reaction noted that what makes life meaningful in any society were electricity, road and potable water and that the council boss had shown himself to have been prepared to restore life to his people.
“I commend the efforts of our amiable council chairman, Hon. Dagidi Andaye, for restoring the light to our local government area after a long period of staying in darkness. He has done an excellent job and may the Lord bless him and prolong his days”, he said.
*As Virgin of 70 Years, I’ve Never Seen Electricity Here Before Now—Catholic Bishop, Egbebo
The bishop, Catholic Diocese of Bomadi, Most Rev. Hyacinth Egbebo, in his Christmas speech urged both Christians and people in various religion backgrounds alike to celebrate Christmas with love and peace. He also applauded the reconnection of Bomadi to National Grid.
Hear him: “The celebration of Christmas is a very welcome development, and of course everybody is familiar with the celebration. Both pagans and people with various religious backgrounds celebrate Christmas because it’s all about paying tribute to God Who lives amongst us. God is always present in our midst and that’s what we celebrate.
“I want everybody to celebrate Christmas in peace and love because Jesus Christ represents love, Jesus Christ represents the God Who cares, the God Who redeems us and who wants to make us a better people. We should be very thankful to this God that cares.
“But, I’m very heartbroken to hear of the deaths in so many places because of the shortage of food in this country. Now, if you put out any little bit of food, people will scramble and kill one another. I hope this is a clarion call on the federal government to do something about food shortages, about hunger in the land. Let us go beyond politics and address this situation because Nigerians are very hungry and they need to be fed.
“Our bushes and farms should be rid of those stopping us from farming so that we can farm and feed ourselves. We are not a country of palliatives, we don’t want to live on palliatives because nobody or government would be able to feed the crowd that Nigeria presents.
“But, if we can go to our farms we can feed ourselves, and that’s how God has designed life to be. So, please let the federal government go back to the drawing table and make the situation better for everybody to work for himself or herself so we can feed each other.
“My appeal to Nigerians is that, we don’t have to kill because of food. Please, don’t stampede even if you don’t get it, God will bring another opportunity for you. So, don’t kill anybody, and if you kill anybody by stampeding, if you kill by standing on somebody, you will go home and your food will be soured and you will be unhappy.
“On electricity in Bomadi, thankfully I’m for the first time seeing it in this area since I was born. Even though turbines are run from the gases that are going from this area, I have never seen electricity here. I’m a virgin of seventy years and I have not seen electricity here, where the bulk of the wealth of the nation is coming from, this is sad!.
“But, thanks to God that electricity has come, which is a very welcome development. Yes, some areas in Bomadi have not yet received light, possibly because of problems of transformers or electric poles and let them also fix those areas”.
*Christmas is togetherness, we celebrate the kind gesture of our council chairman—CAN
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Bomadi local government branch, has urged Christians and people in other faiths to celebrate Christmas with love and sober reflection.
The chairman of CAN, Bomadi local local government branch, Apostle (Dr) Liberty Usiaiyo, made the call in his Christmas message, yesterday, where he called on Christians and all others to celebrate in peace and love.
He said: “Christmas is all about togetherness, it’s a time of sober reflection, it’s a time we come together to share the love of Christ. We are to celebrate to the glory of God and not to the glory of the devil.
“On the light in Bomadi, it’s a welcome development that Bomadi has been reconnected to the National Grid. We celebrate our chairman of council for a job well done and we pray that, God will enrich him with more wisdom to pilot the affairs of Bomadi LGA. For over fifteen to twenty years, Bomadi has no light and we are happy for this development.
“To the federal government, the planners of the economy did not plan well and that’s why there is hunger in the land. The federal government should go back to the drawing table and replan the economy in 2025. I also urge Nigerians to go back to their farms”.
Bomadi LG Chair a Wonderful Young Man—NULGE
The Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, has also commended the chairman of council for running an all-inclusive government in the council area.
The chairman of NULGE, Bomadi local government area, Comrade Jude Elayela, made the commendation against the backdrop of the benevolence of the council chairman in the area of workers’ welfare, who expressed his heartfelt gratitude after receiving 250 bags of rich as part of Christmas emoluments on behalf of the union.
Comrade Elayela said: “Our council chairman is a very wonderful person, he is a wonderful young man because we as a union has not seen this kind of gesture for years. He managed to buy rice for the union and the wards in this hard economy. This is something we have not experienced for quite some time. We were give 250 bags of rice as a union.
“We are really happy, very, very happy and we pray that God should continue to strengthen him. We also pray that the state government should extend a right hand of fellowship with him because what the young man is doing at the grassroot is great.
*Andaye Making Our Job Easier for Us—PDP Chair
More so, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has commended the efforts of the local government council for the show of love and care for the people in the yuletide.
The chairman of PDP, Bomadi local government area, Hon. Godbless Keneke, who lauded the council chairman after receiving Christmas goodies on behalf of the various wards in the local government area, also thanked the council boss for expressing a show of love to opposition parties in the council area, as well as the vulnerable.
“Hon. Dagidi Andaye has impacted meaningfully to the people of the council area within a short period in office. In this festive period, he has also celebrated with his people by sharing Christmas goodies, including rice, cash and other things to the various wards, communities and the vulnerable in the society.
“He even extended same love to the opposition party by sharing Christmas goodies to them. By this gesture, he is making the job of the party easier for us to do and I commend him for his good heart”, he said.
However, Andaye, on Christmas Eve, personally went round to share Christmas packages to some most elderly men and women within Bomadi and environs.
