BENIN CITY – Secretary to Edo State Government (SSG), Prof. Julius Ihonvbere has charged coalition groups in the state to uphold the tenets of their ideological focus in order to bring about the desired change.
Prof. Ihonvbere was speaking yesterday in Government House, while playing host to a delegation of coalition of progressives, Edo State who came on a solidarity and commendation visit.
He urged them to work with very clear vision, well defined strategies of engagement and to recognize the fact that their strength may not have immediate results.
The SSG who expressed the need for Nigerians to pursue unity and rearrange their values, equally noted that religion should be given a holistic interpretation, and seen as a weapon of liberation and not oppression.
“Your religion must empower you to engage your environment adequately, ethnicity should not rule your life, pursue unity,” he said.
Prof. Ihonvbere who said he has no regrets for the decisions and steps he has taken in life so far, also posited that the prevailing state of affairs cannot lead to development, liberation or create an environment where the average Nigerian can achieve their full potentials, unless the right ideals are upheld.
State co-ordinator, coalition of progressives, Mr. Osahon Okoro-Obaraye, said their visit was to commend the SSG for his spirit of sportsmanship, perchant for discipline and truth as well as his contributions to the development of the state.
He equally revealed that Prof. Ihonvbere has been chosen as the “Man of the year politician in their upcoming award ceremony, where he is expected to deliver a lecture on mentoring.