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Tag: Edwin Clark

  • Edwin Clark relishes surpassing father’s, mother’s ages

    Edwin Clark relishes surpassing father’s, mother’s ages

    …I give all to my God – Clark

    …says as long as I live, I will continue to fight injustice

    Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark on Tuesday said at 94 he has exceeded the ages of his father, mother and grandparents, giving it all to God.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the frontline Niger Delta elder statesman disclosed this when he appeared on a national television program on Tuesday.

    He said: “I once said at 70 you already have a ticket and boarding pass and today I am 94 and I thank God for keeping me alive and I will continue to fight injustice as long as I live”.

    On Delta politics, the elder statesman said he can’t make any comment on it yet because he is a national person having Urhobo, ijaw and Isoko blood flowing in his body.

  • Despite having crude oil, Niger Deltans treated like slaves – Clark

    Despite having crude oil, Niger Deltans treated like slaves – Clark

    …insists we must restructure Nigeria

    …I am not leaving Nigeria for anybody

    …oil blocs are owned only by northern and Western people

    …says let’s go back to 1963 constitution

    …forget constitution amendment

    …I can’t make a statement on Delta State

    Frontline Niger Delta elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark has said Niger Deltans are being treated like slaves despite having the crude oil Nigeria boasts of in the region.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Clark in a national television program took a swipe at the lopsided political arrangements in Nigeria, saying Niger Delta, laying the golden eggs have been relegated to the background.

    Clark without mincing words said: “all the oil blocs are owned by Northern and Western people of the country and that is why I say they treat us like second class citizens.

    “If you don’t have a northern person you can’t get anything from the oil sector in our region or you must be an APC member or nothing for you”.

    On constitution amendment, the elder statesman said: “we should forget it and go back to the Nasir El-rufai report and 1963 Constitution for good.

    On Delta State politics, he said, “I am a national citizen, I can’t make a statement on it now and you know that I have Ijaw, Urhobo and Isoko blood flowing in my body and that is what makes me thick”.

  • PANDEF seeks investigation into attacks on police formations

    PANDEF seeks investigation into attacks on police formations

    The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has called for a thorough investigation into the series of attacks on police formations and personnel in the country.

    The call was contained in a communique jointly signed by its National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark and its Chairman, Sen. Emmanuel Essien, issued after its General Assembly and made available to journalists on Tuesday, in Warri.

    The communiqué condemned the spate of attacks on Police formations and personnel in some states in the South South and South East and urged those behind the awful actions to stop forthwith, while urging a thorough and unbiased investigation to determine those behind the attacks.

    “PANDEF condemns the spate of attacks on Police formations and personnel in some states in the South South and South East regions, the communique said, stressing that the Federal Government should to adopt a “special security measure” particularly in the two regions.

    “The Federal Government should provide a special security measure in the South South and South East regions. It should shun predilections in tackling the security challenges across the country,” the group said.

    The communiqué also called on the National Assembly to accelerate the amendment of the Electoral Act, with the inclusion of provisions for electronic voting before the 2023 general elections as these would guarantee free, fair and credible elections.

    It decried the abandonment of critical infrastructure projects in the Niger Delta Region.

    The communique also called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to promptly constitute the board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission, in line with the Act establishing it.

  • Elder statesman, Edwin Clark rejects secession voices, backs restructuring

    Elder statesman, Edwin Clark rejects secession voices, backs restructuring

    Elder statesman Edwin Clark has cautioned against calls for secession in some parts of the country.

    Clark in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Saturday explained that calls for secession in some quarters were not the solution to the country’s problems.

    He said he did not believe in Nigeria’s breakup in spite of rising insecurity and economic challenges in the country.

    According to him, rather than fan the embers of war by making secession calls, workable strategies should be evolved to solve the problem of insecurity and other challenges making life unbearable for Nigerians.

    “Nigeria will remain one. Some of us do not believe in the call for secession. Where do we go to, who are we leaving the country for, who owns it.

    “We cannot flee, where do we go. Though I am seeing this danger but I do not believe that Nigeria will split.

    “Recently 17 Southern governors met and they also agreed that Nigeria will remain one. They are not just PDP but also APC governors.

    “Even during the civil war in 1967, we never believed Nigeria would break up and the war eventually ended in 1970.

    “That was the nearest we got to breaking up but Nigeria did not break up,” he said.

    The elder statesman called for restructuring rather than call for break up.

    He referred to reports of the 2014 National Conference and the committee headed by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, saying the recommendations would go a long way.

    He said, “all we are saying is that we should restructure the country. Let us devolve power to the states. They should be the federating units.

    “We should refer to the 2014 National Conference report of over 600 recommendations. We do not need to convoke another confab.

    “The confab report in addition to what APC produced under Gov. Nasir El-rufai’s committee are enough to create a true federal system of government in Nigeria.”

    Clark stressed that unless Nigeria returned to a federal system of government, as obtained in 1963, the restructuring process would not be complete.

    “Let us have a federal system of government as we had in 1963. Once that is done, there will be peace in Nigeria. With that, every region will have a State Police.

    “So, the only cure to the problem of insecurity in Nigeria is to return to the 1963 Constitution with a few amendments.”

    He further said, “I have been in politics for about 70 years in this country and I have seen it all.

    “In 1960, there was the Independent Constitution, drawn up in Britain by the Whites and Nigerians.

    “They agreed that this country has more than 250 ethnic nationalities, therefore a unitary form of government will not work and that there should be a federation which we had.

    “The 1960 constitution made it that every region had its own constitution and develop at their own pace and keep half of what is developed in their area.

    “That was why Obafemi Awolowo was able to develop the West because we had the cocoa boom at the time. The price of cocoa was very high in the international market.

    “So he was able to introduce free primary education which other regions could not do at the time.”

    He blamed the military for the present economic and security challenges faced by Nigerians, saying the military changed into a unitary form of government.

    “Aguiyi Ironsi changed this country into a unitary government.

    “It continued until the Army handed over in 1999 and they left behind a unitary form of constitution.

    “That is why we are facing so much problem as a nation and that is why we are calling for restructuring,” he said.

    On attacks on schools, Clark called for provision of security in and around schools through the building of fences and adequate surveillance.

    He said that it might not be possible to guard all schools with the few number of security men in the country.

    He advised that vigilantes could be employed to provide the Police with necessary information in the case of attempted attacks.

    He, however, kicked against mounting surveillance cameras in schools, saying, “it will not work unless the people are ready to prevent kidnapping and other forms of attacks in schools.

    “Even if we mount CCTVs they will be compromised as has happened on different occasions in some parts of the country.

  • I stand with the governors of the South South, not Akpabio, on NDDC – Edwin Clark

    I stand with the governors of the South South, not Akpabio, on NDDC – Edwin Clark

    Elder statesman and prominent South South leader, Chief Edwin Clark has clarified that he does not support the strong grip of Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Minster of Niger Delta Affaris on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The outspoken former federal minister said rather, he stands with the governors of the South South states.

    Clark made the clarification in a statement he personally signed and released on Tuesday night.

    Read full statement below:

    “My attention has been drawn to a publication/communique that is
    trending on-line, allegedly stating that I am in support of the stronghold the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and its finances, by a group that calls itself South-South Front (SSF) after a so called meeting where they said of me “The leaders were keen to applaud attitude the Ijaw National Leader, Chief Clark, has shown thus for as well as his support for the NDDC management.”

    “I wish to disassociate myself from this group which I do not even know.
    My position on the activities of Minister Akpabio, has been consistent,
    and is in the public domain.

    I am in support of a forensic audit to unravel the stinking corruption
    in the Commission, but not the activities of Akpabio.

    I recall that I made this known when the Sole Administrator, Effiong Okon Akwa, came to pay courtesy call on me soon after his appointment. I advised him to insulate himself from the Honourable
    Minister and face the work he had been appointed to do. Also, just a few days ago, during the commissioning of a road project in my Community Kiagbodo, by the NDDC, in my address which was read by my son, Chief Ebikeme Clark, former Chairman of Burutu Local Government Council, and presently Special Adviser to the Governor of Delta State, I asked that the Honourable Minister should leave the
    Commission to do its job.

    I condemned his decision to use the funds of the Commission on the East-West Road. The funds of the Commission are meant to develop the Niger Delta region, which is seriously underdeveloped.

    The Federal Government is allocating huge sums of money to work roads such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, etc, which they call legacy projects, leaving out the East-West Road, which as a matter of fact ought to be the first legacy project of the country, as it is, today, the major haul through which the product sustaining the economy of the Country is transported to various parts of the country.

    For the avoidance of doubt, I reproduce my address delivered at the
    Road Commissioning at my hometown Kiagbodo:
    “SPEECH BY CHIEF (DR.) EDWIN KIAGBODO CLARK, OFR, CON, AT THE
    COMISSIONING OF THE CHIEF AMBAKEDEREMO ROAD, KIAGBODO TOWN, DELTA STATE, CONSTRUCTED BY THE NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT
    COMMISSION (NDDC).

    DATE: THURSDAY, 6TH MAY 2021.

    PROTOCOL

    Let me begin by welcoming you all, especially, the Acting Managing Director,
    Effiong Okon Akwa, and the leadership of the NDDC, to my hometown, Kiagbodo,
    which has many unique features. We have the spectacular records of being one
    of the main towns in the whole of Nigeria, where two major ethnic groups, Ijaw
    and Urhobo, exist together, and in all our dear community is sufficiently
    bilingual. Beyond that, we all have either maternal or paternal links with both
    groups. This is why here in Kiagbodo, we live in the best fraternity and do all
    things in common. It is our prayer that one day, all of Nigeria will be like our
    town, living in a united country where the citizens live together, where everyone
    is equal, and can aspire to any position.
    Your visit here today, which is preceded by the Flag-off of donation of Education/
    Essential Science Equipment in Warri, is part of the very remarkable
    achievement, which you have recorded on your short period as Acting Managing
    Director of the Commission. This is very much appreciated. You are a shining light
    here in the Niger Delta and continue to contribute tremendously to the political
    and social evolution of our people and the existing peace in the area.

    Let me also welcome other dignitaries here present, some of whom are illustrious
    sons and daughters of this community, Kiagbodo, especially, Prof. Victor
    Peretomode, the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the Delta State University,
    Abraka, Delta State, and who was a onetime Commissioner at the NDDC.
    Today again, affords me the opportunity to say a few general things on the state
    of affairs in the NDDC.

    During your visit to me at my residence in Abuja, on your assumption of office, I
    strongly advised that the construction of the East-West Road is a Federal
    Government project, like every other Federal road projects such as the AbujaKaduna-Kano Road, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, etc, but which the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, is funding
    directly from accruals mostly gotten from oil (derived in the Niger Delta) revenue,, running into billions of naira, and which the Federal Government calls Legacy Projects. Is the Niger Delta region not qualified to have a Legacy Project?

    A situation where the Federal Government spends so much on such roads, while
    the East-West Road, running from Edo-Delta-Bayelsa-Rivers-Akwa Ibom and
    Cross River States, is not funded by the Federal Government, and thus remains
    deplorable, and has become death traps to users, and a waste of time and resources, as commuters go through the horrendous experience of travelling on
    the road is quite unacceptable. For instance, the portion between Warri and
    Benin, which ordinarily takes about 45 minutes to travel, now lasts for about 5
    hours. I once again use this medium to call on the attention of the Federal Government to kindly look into the state of the East-West Road.

    The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has been going round other parts of the country, to either commission the commencement of road projects, or inspect the conditions of roads. He is yet to be seen in the Niger Delta.

    I challenge the Honourable Minister to mention the roads the Federal Government has constructed in the Niger Delta, particularly in Delta State.

    I also wish to use this medium to once again, call on the Honourable Minister of
    Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, not to use the meagre resources of the Ministry meant to develop the Niger Delta region, to work the East-West
    Road, which is obviously a Federal Government project. There are several areas in the region, which needs to be developed with the resources of the Ministry.

    In addition, Acting Managing Director, recall that when you came to visit me, I
    also advised you to detach yourself from the raging politics and as a professional,
    focus on the job ahead of you. By that I mean, for you to stay away from the
    continued feud between the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Governors of
    the nine Niger Delta States over the control of the Commission’s day to day
    administration.

    Furthermore, is the state of malfeasance and crass corruption for which the NDDC has become known. I was not, therefore, surprised when some of the elements within your system recently came up with a 15-page advertisement and contracts, which I will advise that you do not allow yourself to be lured by some officials of the Commission, to embark upon. I hear that you rejected them and has almost brought these practices to a stop. I am mentioning this because I know that the people behind these activities are entrenched in the system and will definitely try to undermine your efforts.

    We will keep watching out for those who are bent on truncating and sabotaging
    the efforts we have made in the past to set up machineries for the development
    of our Niger Delta region. I recall how the eminent late HRH Pere (Dr.) Harold Dappa-Biriye as the leader of the region, and I as the Deputy, worked towards
    the establishment of the Commission. The number of times we met with the then
    President of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the number of times we
    had to go and lobby with our Northern friends, before the Commission was
    established. We had hoped that the Commission will be the guiding light for the social and economic development of the region. Today a few individuals, some
    of them, pitiably and unfortunately, sons of the region, are doing everything to
    derail the Commission.
    As you commission this Bekederemo Road, Kiagbodo, today, I want to assure you that we the communities of Kiagbodo, and our neighbours, will ensure that we
    play our part , that the road will be well protected for the good of the people.

    This is what I hope many of the communities in the Niger Delta will learn to do whenever Government projects are sited around them.

    As I conclude, I will like to emphasise that no payments should be made to the so
    called Emergency Contracts, a scheme which has already gulped billions of naira.
    I do hope that these fraudulent ‘Emergency Contracts’ are brought before the on-going Forensic Audit.

    I will also like to call on the Federal Government to ensure the sustainable
    funding of the NDDC. It is of great concern that the Commission is still being
    owed a lot of money. This is unlike similar bodies such as the recently set up
    North East Development Commission which the Federal Government has
    ensured full funding as and when due. A country where different standards exist
    for similar organisations is not in our collective interest. This is more so when the NDDC is the body responsible for the development of where the wealth of the
    country comes from.

    On your part, I want to repeat the advice, which I gave to you when you came to
    see me on your assumption of office and that is for you to remember that you will one day leave this office, and will be required to give account of your stewardship. You must, therefore, finish, strong and clean.

    Let me once more thank you all and wish you the best.”

    “I align myself with the call by the South-South Governors for Minister
    Akpabio to stop his interference at the Commission. I wish to also state
    that the forensic audit should be completed as soon as possible to
    enable a substantive Board to be put in place, in line with the Act
    setting up the Commission.”

  • Elder Statesman, Edwin Clark receives COVID-19 Vaccine, sends message to Nigerians

    Elder Statesman, Edwin Clark receives COVID-19 Vaccine, sends message to Nigerians

    Elder Statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark and members of his family on Monday received the first dose of the AstraZeneca jab.

    Clark and his family members received the vaccine at his Asokoro residence.

    He told newsmen shortly after receiving the vaccine that he did it publicly “to demonstrate to people that the vaccine is safe.

    “I have taken it and I’m appealing to every Nigerian this is the occasion to take it.

    “When they said the vaccines were coming, there were a lot of arguments everywhere some said don’t take Johnson and Johnson; don’t take the one from America the temperature will not be cold enough.

    “I said which ever you bring to this country I will take it.

    “If there is no good health, don’t neglect good health it will affect the economy of the country.

    “We are lucky. Countries are paying so much money. Some have gone down to the level for the next 40 years they may not recover from it.

    “Luckily, we are not at that level. The Ebola, some of these things that happened before in this country we have been very good in treating them.”

    The elder statesman also urged Nigerians to unite and fight the menace of insecurity.

    “I pray that all Nigerians in similar ways, come together to solve the problem of security in this country.

    “We can do it. Once we put our hands together, no one man can do it alone. All of us should put our heads together because we have no other country to go to,” he said.

    Dr Iwot Akpan Acting Executive Secretary FCT Primary Healthcare Board who administered the vaccine to Clark and family said that the board was driving the process of vaccinating the populace in FCT to ensure that the target groups that needed the vaccine had access to it.

    “The target for FCT in 2021 is one million that is 40 per cent of the population that is supposed to be vaccinated this year. Next year we have 30 per of the population.

    “For 2021 and 2022, we expect to vaccinate 70 per cent of the target population”.

    Akpan further said that the first dose wasn’t just enough if the second dose was not taken.

    “So the essence of appropriate registration is to enable one complete the cycle and be fully immunised so that you can now live very free life that one won’t be scared of CoronaVirus.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Nigeria, on March 2, took delivery of nearly four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as part of an overall 16 million doses planned to be delivered to the country in batches over the next few months.

    The vaccines are being provided by COVAX, an unprecedented global effort to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

  • Edwin Clark reveals three greatest enemies within Buhari’s government

    Edwin Clark reveals three greatest enemies within Buhari’s government

    Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark on Wednesday said while popular Kaduna based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Gumi’s recent peace meeting efforts with some bandits in Zamfara forests is commendable, however his (Gumi’s) statement comparing them (bandits) with the Niger Delta agitators is inhumane and condemnable.

    The former Federal Commissioner for Information also said President Muhammadu Buhari is a ‘first-class gentleman’ surrounded by detractors.

    Clark said this in a virtual press briefing attended by TheNewsGuru.com, TNG on Wednesday.

    The nonagenarian while explaining reasons for the agitation by the Niger Delta militants and the subsequent amnesty granted by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2009 said:

    “The case of the Niger Delta agitators, is quite different from the case of these murderous, blood thirsty villains, who have taken up arms against the state, using different names, whether as Boko Haram, bandits, killer herdsmen, kidnappers, etc. What is it they are demanding? Initially we were told that as Boko Haram, they were against western education, they started killing, maiming, and destroying properties. Then they changed and we were told that some of them have changed to answer bandits, and all sorts of names. We are even told by the Government, including Mr. President himself, that they are not Nigerians.

    On the other hand, it was the dehumanization,environmental pollution, destruction of natural source of income generation, which include fishing, farming, timber work etc., exclusion from job which under natural circumstances they are qualified for, but the same Oil Companies will rather go hinterland to recruit people that are not qualified, to do jobs such as diving, underwater welding, and boat driving. Instead of employing the community people who are naturally savvy in these fields/areas.

    Therefore, the grievances of these Niger Delta youths was and still is, against the government, as against the exploiting Oil Companies which have remained adamant by refusing to develop their areas of operation, but have continued to fly their people from Lagos to perform their job at the rigs in the creek, and flown back to Lagos at the end of each working day. These companies have not deemed it fit to put up buildings and offices to accommodate and quarter their workers. In rare cases when it is necessitated, these oil companies will rather use houseboat which they hire at very high cost, and which they will dismantle at the end of the operation, and then move to another location at the end of their exploration”.

    On how the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the two presidential spokesmen; Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu are detractors to the president whom he referred as a ‘first-class gentleman’, the outspoken South South leader said:

    “Infact, the greatest enemy or detractors of the Buhari Government, who I regarded as first-class gentleman, is this propagandists Lai Mohammed, who is presently serving as Minister of Information,a job some of us had done earlier, Femi Adesina, who behaved as a gentle man when he was Managing Director and Editor in Chief of the Sun Newspaper, who gave me an Award on behalf of the Sun Newspaper, but who now today regard me as very unpatriotic and anti-Buhari; a man who does not think that well-meaning Nigerians who have attained certain ages do not deserve Presidential Congratulatory Message, and the devilish, tribalistic and most dangerous propagandist, Garba Shehu. I can understand why the First Lady demanded for his sack because he is one of those who is misleading her husband.”

     

  • I’m not dead – Chief Edwin Clark

    I’m not dead – Chief Edwin Clark

    The National Leader and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark has said that he alive, hale and hearty.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Chief Clark made this known on Sunday morning, after being inundated with anxious calls from within and outside the country.

    He thanked those who have shown sincere concerns about him, especially in the last 3-4 weeks.

    In a statement signed and released by Ken Robinson, the National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Clark has recovered from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and is doing well.

    The statement reads: “Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, was inundated with anxious calls, all evening of February 13, 2020, inquiring about the state of health of its National Leader and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Dr. Edwin Kiagbodo Clark.

    “The anxiety of the inquirers has necessitated this release.

    “PANDEF wishes to state, assuredly, that Chief E. K. Clark is his normal healthy and ebullient self.

    “The information making the rounds on some social media platforms is a concocted, malicious falsehood, ostensibly intended to cause confusion within the Chief’s teeming, multi-dimensional constituencies.

    “PANDEF urges all friends and associates of the South-South Leader, and, indeed, the entire Nigerian public, and the Global Community, to disregard the ugly rumour. Chief Clark is alive, hale and hearty.

    “What is true, is that our Leader, soon to be ninety-four years old, did test positive for COVID-19, but had since been confirmed negative by health officials, after 14 days of isolation in his Asokoro, Abuja, residence.

    “The good Chief, reacting to the perplexing story, last night, expresses his appreciation for the kindness of those calling from good hearts.

    “He uses this instance to also thank all those, within and outside the country, who had been calling, in the last 3-4 weeks, upon hearing of the outcome of his COVID-19 test and yearns all to join him in thanking GOD for his dramatic deliverance from the scourge.

    “PANDEF, itself, gives glory to God, for graciously blessing our leader with salubrious longevity, to continue to bestow his God-given wisdom and leadership acuity, still very much needed, not only in the Niger-Delta Region, or the Southern-Middle Belt Alliance, but also, the entire Country, Nigeria.

    “On an important footnote, PANDEF strongly implores operators and sponsors of online communication platforms, to maintain the highest professional standards, in their practice and endeavours, by authenticating their stories before hastening to publish, to avoid creating this kind of unwholesome and disconcerting situation”.

  • Jakande was a political titan – Edwin Clark

    Jakande was a political titan – Edwin Clark

    Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has described the late Second Republic governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, as a political titan.

    In a tribute on Thursday entitled “Fare Thee Well, LKJ”, the former Federal Commissioner for Information stated that Jakande succeeded in carving a pristine niche for himself, on the Nigerian social and political landscapes.

    He described Jakande as a notable journalist, who rose to the Position of Editor of the Tribune Group of Newspapers, in its glorious days.

    According to him, “in politics, he held the Lagos Constituency for his Leader and Party, in a vice-like grip, before emerging as the First Civilian, and only Second Republic Governor of Lagos State, in 1979, re-elected in 1983.

    “He had a great romance with the media and public, because of his populist Projects, like the massive expansion of primary and secondary classrooms, and residential facilities, generally referred to as “Jakande Schools”, and “Jakande Estates”, respectively, though derisively by political rivals. That the Schools and Estates have, with inevitable modifications, survived for more than four decades, speaks volumes for his foresight in those areas of human development indices. I was not in his political camp, but respected his calm and brave reactions to criticisms”.

    Pa Clark reminisced that the last time he met Jakande face-to-face about 40 years ago during the Second Republic “when my Apapa GRA, Lagos, neighbour, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, invited me over, to his residence, to ask me to join their party, UPN.

  • How I miraculously survived COVID-19 at 93 – Edwin Clark

    How I miraculously survived COVID-19 at 93 – Edwin Clark

    Elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark on Wednesday narrated his terrible experience in isolation and how he recovered from the novel Coronavirus [COVID-19] infection.

    The 93-year-old described his 14 days in isolation and treatment period as a “terrible experience”, adding that he was at a point scared of the virus.

    With his experience, he declared that COVID-19 is real and called on the Federal Government to sanction Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello over his claims that the pandemic was not real.

    Chief Clark, who spoke yesterday in Kiagbodo, Delta State, urged Nigerians to support efforts by the Federal Government to stop the spread of the pandemic in the country.

    He said at his age, he recovered from the COVID-19 two weeks after testing positive.

    According to him, he contracted COVID-19 after his niece, who visited his Abuja home became sick and later tested positive to the virus.

    The elder statesman also confirmed that nine of his workers and siblings, who tested positive, have recovered.

    Recounting his ordeal, the nonagenarian said he was treated for 14 days before subsequent tests by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) returned negative.

    He said given his old age and underlying health challenges, he was worried, especially after having adhered to NCDC protocols since the outbreak of the virus in the country.

    Chief Clark said: “Sometime last month, I got a call from one of my nieces that she was just coming from Warri. I told her that you people in Warri don’t observe COVID-19 protocols very well and I said she should stay in the guest house.

    “On the third day, she (the niece) became very ill. She was very weak, coughing and said she had malaria. I directed that she should be taken to my clinic. Because she was coughing, the doctor said she should go for a COVID-19 test.

    “The following day (Friday), the Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, sent doctors and 24 of us in the house were tested and on Saturday, the result came and nine of us tested positive. Number one on the list was I. I was terribly worried.

    “He (Dr. Ehanire) contacted the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) team and they said they want to evacuate me to a good isolation centre, but I insisted on treatment from home. They said that was okay. They sent doctors to look after me and the rest who tested positive. I was worried because I have heard of people dying of the virus.”

    Clark said aside from malaria, he did not develop other symptoms of the virus until he was confirmed positive.

    The Ijaw leader lauded the Minister of Health and the ministry’s officials for a prompt response that led to his quick recovery from the virus.

    The elder statesman did not however spare Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State who have constantly downplayed the deadly virus and vaccines.

    He said: “He should be sanctioned. This is a man parading himself that he wants to be President of Nigeria. It’s all nonsense. Some of them feel because they are very close to Mr. President, they can do anything.”

    Clark also said the timing of the National Identification Number (NIN) was wrong and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the process due to rising COVID-19 cases.

    The elder statesman said: “The ongoing NIN is a very irresponsible action from the Federal Government. You cannot be asking Nigerians to go and queue without social distancing and wearing of face mask, and struggling to register. What for? Under this period, how many people are they going to register?

    “The duty of every government is security and welfare, but as at today, you have people fighting everywhere to register for NIN card. What is so urgent about it? Who’s losing money if you don’t register now?

    “I appeal to the Federal Government to stop this irresponsible exercise and concentrate on COVID-19. They (political leaders) must show an example to others. If at 93, I’m wearing a face mask in my house, nobody should be exempted, including Mr. President. They should show example to Nigerians. The regulations should be carried out.”