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… Condemns Orji Kalu’s Call for Scrapping of Niger Delta Ministry
By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa
A coalition of youth groups in Bayelsa State have called for the nomination of a female engineer and professor, Engineer Ongoebi Maureen Orubide Etebu, as minister in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s yet to be constituted cabinet.
Addressing an international press conference in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital on June 12, 2023, leader of the coalition of various groups, which converged on the Ernest Okoli NUJ Press Center in Ekeki-Yenagoa, Comrade Amatare Mozimo, described Prof Etebu as a woman of calibre, “who has been a two-time gubernatorial aspirant (2019 and 2023), have served in numerous capacities as the pioneer vice-chancellor of the Federal Maritime University, Okerenkoko, and the South-South coordinator of the City Boy Movement (CBM). that saw to the tremendous outing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the South-South region in the just concluded presidential election.”
The coalition stressed that “what Engr. Prof. Etebu brings to the table is a double-loaded resume that can add value to Tinubu’s cabinet, as she is a core professional in her field of engineering with triple doctorate degrees in Mechanical, Industrial Engineering and Power and Energy, not to mention her four Masters degrees in diverse fields of engineering as well as an MBA in Management which have prepared and made her fit enough for the ministerial position to represent Bayelsa State in Tinubu’s ministerial cabinet as the president is widely known as a stickler for professionalism, technocracy and one who believes in merit and core competences of his appointees.”
Comrade Mozimo assured that Prof. Etebu, “who holds the record as the first female professor of Mechanical Engineering in Nigeria, was also a one-time commissioner in the late D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha administration where she championed the cause for the first Bayelsa State owned Niger Delta University (NDU) as commissioner, Special Duties with projects that are still standing tall in the varsity till date.”
The groups rooting for Prof. Etebu reiterated that she has been “an active player in the Niger Delta struggle through her pioneering efforts in far flung Maritime University at the the brink of the Escravos and other interior creeks where she had set the template for a vibrant maritime training and certification for youths of the region.
“Etebu is young at heart and fit to man any ministry the president deems fit. She is active circle and knowledgeable in all ramifications especially in her core field of engineering where she attained the tank of a professor over a decade ago at the University of Port Harcourt where she had served as the dean of faculty to the admiration of all.
“Till date, go to Okerenkoko, the staff of the Maritime University are still singing her praises. Though some detractors tried blackmailing her to dent her hard-earned reputation, it didn’t work as they were finally caught and currently facing prosecution in the courts as we speak. She has been exonerated and vindicated from any blemish and posterity has justified her. Engr Prof. Etebu’s role for the election of President Tinubu is also not to be glared over,” they said.
The group leaders added that as the South South coordinator of the City Boy Movement’ for President Bola Tinubu, Engr. Professor Etebu “was able to galvanise massive support for the president transversing the length and breath of the oil-rich region (from Uyo to Calabar to Warri, Escravos, down to Benin) she was there to campaign and sell the message of ‘Renewed Hope’ to the Niger Delta people which culminated in successful election of President Tinubu.”
According to the groups, “The presidential result is evident as it showed that Engr Prof Etebu’s ward in KOLGA comprising Kaiama and Olobiri had the highest votes of over 25.5 percent for Tinubu and the APC.”
The coalition groups maintained that Engr. Prof. Etebu has been one of those who condemned Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s statement calling for the scraping of the Niger Delta Ministry. She maintained that rather than scrap such crucial ministry impacting positively on the region and its people, the ministry should be strengthened and funded adequately to give the Niger Delta people a sense of belonging.
“That is a crucial ministry, if manned by Engr. Prof. Etebu, to be the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, going by her track record of people-oriented service, it shall go a long way in assuaging agitations and yearnings of development in the region going by the fact that Engr. Prof. Etebu, had taken such challenges and succeeded through her motherly heart and integrity to meet the people at the point of their needs.
“President Tinubu shall find her worthy in character and technical support as a professional with core competencies backed up by a willing heart to serve her people seamlessly for the good of all and the love of the government at the centre.”
The coalition groups called on the leader of the party in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, as well as other APC chieftain at the state and national to look in the direction of Prof. Ongoebi Maureen Orubide Etebu, to take the Bayelsa ministerial slot as she worked for the party in various capacities including being the chairperson of the Entertainment committee saddled with the responsibility of welfare during the visit of president Tinubu to Bayelsa State last December during the campaigns.
“As a staunch player of the City Boy Movement galvanising support for Mr President, the Engineering professor deserves to be appointed as minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to man the Ministry of the Niger Delta which her experiences over the years have prepared her for the task to assist the president and the federal cabinet assuage the yearnings of the Niger Delta people,” the groups added.
They stressed that Engineer Ongoebi Etebu “has integrity with the fear of God to succeed and as a woman her nomination as minister shall trigger lots of happiness amongst women who President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured to work with more women to give them a sense of belonging for the crucial role women like Prof Etebu, are playing towards nation building.”
