CHIEF KENNETH GBAGI (L), DELTA STATE DEPUTY GOVERNOR, PROFESSOR AMOS UTUAMA (SAN)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, January 26, (THEWILL) – For allegedly advising the Delta State deputy governor, Professor Amos Utuama (SAN), to drop his 2015 gubernatorial ambition on the ground of old age, former Minister of State of Education, Chief Kenneth Gbagi, has come under attack.
Gbagi who had signified his intention to contest the state governorship election in 2015 was reported at a media briefing in Warri to have advised Utuama to drop his governorship ambition based on his old age.
But the Urhobo Collective Agenda of Nigeria (UCAN) in a statement after its Council meeting faulted the former minister’s advise.
In the statement titled, “The Urhobo Nation and Kenneth Gbagi…The Unacceptable and Unconstitutional Dance of an Aspirant”, jointly signed by its Chairman, Ighogbado Emuesiri, Secretary-General, Enaowho Dominic and Public Relations Officer,Etaneri Mudiaga, the group said Gbagi’s advice is unsolicited, rude, unacceptable and unconstitutional.
Describing the former minister’s statement as premature, the group said the comment has exposed him as an unintelligent aspirant who lacks depth and content in the conduct of human affairs.
Arguing that Gbagi, at the media briefing, did not at any point state what he plans to do for the people of the state if he becomes the governor of the state, the group said rather he concentrated on making utterances with the sole aim of pulling Utuama down.
Maintaining that it is not in the character of an average Urhobo man or woman to use rude, uncouth and abusive language to address issues relating to their seniors and benefactors, the group said it is also not within the ethics of the Bar to which Utuama belongs.
The group said: “We have decided to educate Kenneth Gbagi that his ill motivated advise is totally unacceptable and not in the character of a true Urhobo son or daughter to show this level of disrespect to a senior under the pretence of “advising him!”
It added:”This we believe is all in a bid to pull down Prof. Amos Agbe Utuama (SAN) our Deputy Governor and the number one politically elected office holder from Urhobo Nation in Delta State.
“We are concerned and worried that Kenneth Gbagi whom we believe has a copy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, can give such an unsolicited advice to his former lecturer without citing the section where it is stated that a person above 60 cannot contest for the Governor of a State or President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We hereby state categorically that Prof. Amos Agbe Utuama (SAN), the Deputy Governor of Delta State and any person above the age of 35 as provided under Section 177(B) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is eminently qualified and equipped to run for any office including the office of Governor of Delta State.”
The group said it was prepared to support Utuama or any other Urhobo son or daughter who decided to run for the Governorship of Delta State than to support Gbagi who “has chosen to dance naked in public in the name of seeking political office.”
It noted that as a group, it was not prepared to shy away from taking a stand against people such as Gbagi who because of their personal ambitions, fail to be humble and show respect to their Urhobo elder statesmen and women or the Government of Delta State and the Federal Government.
The group therefore condemned what it called the shameful action by Gbagi for giving such an ill conceived advise to a very prominent Urhobo son “whose unblemished, record in the service of the Urhobo Nation and Delta State is worth of very high commendation.”
The group also said Gbagi must also be made to realise that the office of the Governor and Deputy Governor of any state in the country should not be brought to ridicule by any one especially those who plan to occupy it.
“Consequently, we are through this medium calling on all those who wish to seek any political office in Delta State and in the nation, to be cautious and humble with their language in the pursuit of same because as our elders say “the word of mouth is like an egg” if it falls and breaks, it cannot be put together again.
“As Nigerians and Deltans, we expect the former minister of State to project a high standard of decorum and a temperament that is not directed by negative human emotions or impulses. “We expect that verbal outbursts that can otherwise be classified as “private discussions” should not be subjected to unnecessary cheap press conferences. We expect that ex-ministers including Ministers of State in or out of office should conduct themselves with some level of dignity and not desecrate their past offices to the extent that people are asking how the individual managed to become a minister of state in the first place,” the group however advised.
About the Author
