Leaders from the Delta State North Senatorial District have pledged to engage their counterparts from other zones towards making the emergence of the governor of the state in 2015 from the zone a negotiated exercise as they identified agriculture and a strong industrial base as critical factors for sustainable development of the state.
In a well attended strategic conference in Lagos at the weekend, stakeholders from the academia, political class and royal fathers outlined the road map to the the election of a governor of Delta North extraction in 2015, noting that a large array of competent, educated and experienced leaders are available to take the state to greater heights.
And even though equity dictates that governorship of the state should shift to the zone, concerted efforts, they said, must be made to negotiate a consensual emergence of an Anioma candidate as governor of the state.
At the conference organized by ASDEV 81 Club at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studie, University of Lagos, the leaders also agreed that the process of the emergence of a governor from Delta North must not be acrimonious. In effect, they endorsed a proposition that a whoever emerges as the candidate from the zone should be backed unconditionally by all persons in the running for governorship.
Recalling the virtues of late Dennis Osadebey, pioneer premier of then Midwest Region, who laid the foundation for the modern Edo and Delta states, the Anioma leaders vowed to give Delta State a leadership that will be fair, progressive and unwavering in weaning the state from dependence on oil revenue under the Delta Beyond Oil initiative of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Governor of the State.
Gov. Uduaghan, who was represented at the occasion by Chike C. Ogeah, commissioner for information, had called for support for the national conference proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that the present constitution has stifled competitiveness among the states and stunted the country's growth.
Speaking at the conference, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly; Dr. Festus Okubor, Chief of Staff to Uduaghan; Chief Clement Ofuani, former commissioner for economic planning in the state and Professor, Victor Izegbu, a professor of urological surgery, said reviving the agricultural sector, building a reliable infrastructural base and a paradigm shift to energizing and empowering the real sector are key to creating employment as well as sustainable development in Delta State.
They also endorsed the proposed national conference as the present federal arrangement has "concentrated too much power at the centre" and denied the country the right ambience for growth.
Professor Epiphany Azinge, director general of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, who chaired the conference, called on all politicians from Delta North seeking to lead the state in 2015 to be ready to subject their personal ambition to the greater interest of the zone.
Other leaders at the conference are Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and Mrs. Ngozi Ologede who were represented as well as Obi (Prof.) Chike Edozien, Asagba of Asaba
Daily Archives: November 25, 2013
Omatek Ventures Bounces Back with N225m Profit
Omatek Ventures Plc has bounced back to profitability thereby raising the hopes of shareholders for dividend payment very soon. The company, which is the only computer manufacturing firm listed on the Nigerian bourse, has posted losses in recent years due to high interest charges and cost of operations.
However, Omatek appears to have started reaping the fruits of investment and diversification strategy as it had reported a profit of N225 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to a loss of N300 million the previous year.
According to the audited results, Omatek posted a revenue of N1.386 billion in 2012 as against N369 million in 2011.Gross profit stood at N592 million and profit after tax of N101million compared with loss of N136 million. The company ended with positive earnings per share of eight kobo as against a negative nine kobo per share the previous year.
Some market operators said the return of the company to profitability was expected considering the efforts of the board and management to turnaround its fortunes in the recent years.
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Omatek, Mrs. Florence Seriki had disclosed that the company introduced new innovation products to the market partly aimed at delivering improved returns to shareholders.
The product include a 24-hour lighting solution that allows consumers to combine the benefits of the solar system and light-emitting diode (LED) technology to proffer solutions that reduce energy consumption considerably while saving costs by 60 to 85 per cent.
She explained that use of the solar/LED solution could result in significant operational and maintenance cost savings for schools, public offices, hospitals, hotels, street lighting implementation, rural electrification and rural water system.
The company also moved into its own property as part of efforts to reduce cost of operations, a development Seriki said would impact positively on its bottom-line going forward.
“We started operation on a leased property, but now that we have fully settled in our own property, business has as well started and we know that the future is bright and promising for all our stakeholders,” she had said.