The immediate past Governor of Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has called for prayers for the unity and development of the state.

The former governor made this call when he received the State Executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at his residence in Asaba on Tuesday.

He said that Delta had remained a praying state and that God had continued to be with the state and its leaders.

The former governor congratulated the new executive committee of CAN in the state and expressed gratitude to the body for its support throughout his eight years in office.

He urged the group to continue with the same support to the new administration in the state, saying that as governor, Sheriff Oborevwori needed the spiritual support of all Christians and citizens in the state.

According to him, I went through a lot as governor. Within three months of my coming into office, the governor’s lodge caught fire while we were sleeping, but God saved us, and we were able to run out of the house before the fire service came.

He added that there were other challenges, but with prayers from you and others, God saw me through all the travails.

Okowa recalled that from May 2015 to October 2017, the Forcados Pipeline in this state was damaged, preventing oil exports from the terminal and the financial squeeze it caused in the country, made it difficult for us to pay salaries during the period.

“We thank God that the workers saw the figures themselves and accepted half of their salaries until we started paying back the backlog after October 2017.

“The church was very supportive in prayers, including our traditional rulers, communities and even our youths and I remember that we had to invite the then Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to come and talk to our people.

“Thereafter, they allowed the oil companies to repair the Trans-Forcados oil pipeline that was breached for over two years.

“That repair was completed in September 2017 and thereafter, we started exporting oil again from the terminal and we later climbed to the number one oil-producing state a year later.

“So, when people begin to talk about misappropriation of funds, I wonder if they have forgotten all these so soon.

“I may not be a Saint and I cannot say that as a politician I may not have done one wrong or the other but the most important thing is that I was truly interested in the development of the state to the best of my ability and I thank God for the support I got from all stakeholders in the state.

“We thank God for the current Governor because he is completing ongoing projects and as I said, let the EFCC continue with their investigation, am not afraid of investigation and am sure by the grace of God the results will speak for themselves,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of CAN in the state, Rev. Lucky Osagbakhoe, said they came to introduce the new CAN Executive to the former governor as one of its critical stakeholders and to thank him for his support to the Christian body throughout his tenure in office.

“We bring you greetings from CAN Delta State, this visit is to formally introduce to you members of the new executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria as we have a course to relate with you from time to time as a major stakeholder.

“We are also here to express and thank you very sincerely for your unrelenting enthusiasm, guidance and support to the leadership of CAN Delta State over the years and for all that you did for the good people of Delta State.

“Your remarkable contributions to evangelism in Delta State will forever be remembered and we owe you a debt of gratitude for the completion and furnishing of the CAN Guest House and over 3,000 sit capacity CAN Christian Centre in Asaba.

“This visit is to reassure you that your being out of office will not in any way delete from our minds your contributions to the development of the state because your legacies and achievements are too profound to be forgotten.

“We hope to continue to partner with you in our work towards Christian unity in the state and beyond. By the grace of God, we would like to honour you by the middle of next if God tarries, with the title ‘Defender of the Christian Faith for openly letting the world know of your Christian life.”