Attack on Oborevwori’s Aide Not Politically Motivated, Says Aniagwu

By Admin

The Delta State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, has said the recent attack on a Senior Special Assistant on Protocol to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Mr. Simon Mudi, popularly known as Temple, was not politically motivated, insisting the incident stemmed from a personal disagreement and should not be linked to political violence.

Aniagwu stated this on Thursday while responding to questions from journalists during a press briefing at the Ministry of Information Conference Hall, Asaba.

The Commissioner clarified that he was not blaming journalists for reporting the incident but expressed concern over what he described as efforts by opposition elements to deliberately give the matter a political interpretation.

“I did not blame any journalist for filing any report. I was talking about opposition elements that are taking the story in a different direction,” he said.

According to him, responsible journalism requires looking beyond the sequence of events to establish the actual cause of an incident before drawing conclusions.

He explained that although the individuals involved may have attended the same gathering earlier, it would be wrong to conclude that the disturbance was politically motivated simply because of that sequence of events.

“If a meeting took place and ended properly, and some persons who attended later had a disagreement elsewhere, it will be unfair to conclude that the meeting caused the incident. Sequence does not necessarily mean cause,” Aniagwu stated.

He reiterated that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had already directed security agencies to carry out a thorough investigation and ensure that everyone involved is brought to justice.

“Those who were involved in that disturbance must face the full weight of the law, irrespective of who they are. Nobody is sweeping anything under the carpet,” he said.

Aniagwu maintained that disagreements between politicians should not automatically be classified as political violence.

“If two persons who are politicians have a disagreement and fight, that does not automatically make it political violence. Just as two journalists disagreeing does not amount to a media war, or two clergymen having a disagreement does not become religious violence,” he explained.

He emphasized that Delta State remains peaceful and dismissed suggestions of unrest within the state.

“There is no unrest in our administration, and there is no political violence in Delta State. I know you know that,” he said.

The Commissioner also took a swipe at opposition politicians, saying they had been unable to fault the Oborevwori administration on its record of development and prudent management of public resources.

“They cannot fault the Oborevwori administration on issues of development. They cannot fault us on the effective management of Delta State’s resources,” he said.

Aniagwu added that prudent management of state resources had kept Delta among the strongest-performing states financially.

“Today, we remain one of the most financially liquid states in the federation. It did not happen by magic. It happened because we have a governor who believes that public resources must be managed effectively and efficiently,” he added.

Earlier, journalists appealed to the state government to ensure seamless access for accredited media practitioners at the forthcoming Delta State Economic and Investment Summit, urging security personnel to recognize official press identity cards to avoid unnecessary delays and embarrassment.

Responding, Aniagwu assured members of the media that appropriate arrangements would be put in place to guarantee proper accreditation while maintaining the high level of security required for the international event.