The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has described as mischievous, insinuations that he supported the citing of the proposed Post-Graduate Campus of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) in his Orogun Community instead of Orerokpe.
Omo-Agege specifically said he would fully support citing the campus in Orerokpe in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State and not in Otoro-Orogun in Ughelli North.
He was reacting to a bill sponsored by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Efe Afe (PDP, Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency).
The proposed law seeks to amend the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) Act and cite the Post-Graduate Campus of the institution in Orogun.
The lawmaker also explained that contrary to the news making the rounds, he was not the sponsor of the bill.
According to a statement signed by Prince Efe Duku, Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Legislative and Plenary Matters, Omo-Agege explained that Orogun alone should not “host both the Federal Polytechnic and the proposed post-graduate campus of FUPRE”.
It would be recalled that the Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, Delta State (Establishment Etc.) Bill, which recently passed Third Reading in the Senate, was sponsored by Omo-Agege.
The statement read in part: “The DSP’s Office seriously frowns at and totally rejects Clause 3 of the said Bill mandating the citing of the “permanent site of the post graduate (sic) campus” of FUPRE in “Otoro-Orogun”, instead of Orerokpe which the DSP believes should host the post-graduate campus of the institution for being within the strategic circumference of the Main Campus.
“The DSP’s Office considers it as either a serious error of omission or commission by the drafter(s)/alleged sponsor of the Bill which must be urgently corrected or it is just an extreme mischief by people who are desperately struggling to taint the DSP’s good name at all cost.
“The Obarisi of Urhoboland is preoccupied with a key element of his legislative agenda of bringing the Federal Polytechnic Orogun to Delta State for the benefit of all Deltans and Nigerians. His Excellency is not interested in anything that distracts from that noble pursuit or capable of igniting premeditated discord amongst our good people. The Obarisi of Urhoboland does not believe that Orogun alone should host both the Federal Polytechnic and the proposed post-graduate campus of FUPRE and would not support anything to the contrary in the Senate”.
The statement further emphasised that the lawmaker would use his office to attract institutions and development to all parts of the state.
“In the circumstances, we ask our people to discountenance the fake news and rumour that the DSP is somehow using the power of his high office to attract the post-graduate campus of FUPRE to ‘Otoro-Orogun’ in addition to the Federal Polytechnic Orogun. That is totally false and mischievous. It is a futile attempt to set our people against themselves. It smacks of very foul politicking. We humbly advise our people not to fall for it at all,” he added.
