For the indigenes and residents of Elioparanwo Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, it is something worth celebrating as Community Primary School, Elioparanwo which was severely damaged after a deadly storm ravaged parts of Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor in May this year, has been renovated by the Rivers State Government.
The damage left over five hundred pupils and their teachers out of school for a greater part of last academic session. The development had elicited cry and agony from the victims who immediately stormed the office of the Elioparanwo Community Development Committee Chairman, Comrade Tony Ovunda, calling for urgent action.
Touched by their plight, Ovunda had taken the bull by the horn and sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to Governor Wike, praying him to do the needful as the stranded pupils had been forced to take refuge in a make shift structure adjacent to the school, that was also leveled by the storm.
That SOS to Governor Wike, which was widely published in the media including National Network newspaper, elicited sympathy from the State’s Chief Executive who thankfully, swung into action to give hope to the kids who are the leaders of tomorrow. And by the resumption of the current academic session last September, work on the school’s renovation had been completed, with the once dilapidated structure wearing a new look.
Briefing journalists in his office on Friday, October 12, 2018, an elated Elioparanwo CDC boss, Comrade Tony Ovunda noted that the timely intervention of Governor Wike has brought succor to parents and wards of the school, and commended the Governor for job well done.
“On behalf of Elioparanwo Community, I wish to specially thank our Governor for coming to the rescue of these children. He has demonstrated his love for the children and their education, also showing that good and quality education can only be gotten when the environment is made conducive for learning”, Ovunda stated, adding that the structure had been improved from what it was before the incident, to a more befitting place with fans, better ceiling boards and air conditioning system.
He assured the Governor of adequate security of the school’s facilities but appealed to him to use his good office and attend to other pressing needs affecting the community.
“Like Oliver Twist, we would never cease to cry out to Mr. Projects regarding our needs. While we thank him for constructing the Elioparanwo-Mgbuakara-Ogbogoro link roads, we draw his attention to a section of the Elioparanwo major road, with a terrible pot hole that has become a death trap, just before the T-junction leading to Egbelu abattoir”, Ovunda said.
Similarly, one of the coordinators of the Non-Indigenes Support Group for Governor Wike’s re-election in 2019 who simply gave her name as Precious, lauded the Governor for his numerous achievements in just three and half years of his administration and urged him to keep up the tempo.
Precious, who is popularly called ‘Stainless’ in Ogbogoro Community, also applauded the sterling leadership of Comrade Ovunda in galvanizing support for the Wike administration, stressing “No patriotic-minded person in Rivers State would vote for any other party other than the PDP come 2019”.
