By Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe
You may have read several misleading stories and articles about the year Oghareki Grammar School was established, which was ill-conceived by detractors to further discredit one of the genuine and authenticated academic certificates of the incoming governor of Delta State under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rt Hon Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, JP.
These articles and stories were obviously sponsored by desperate Oligarchs scheming to install one of their own as Governor of Delta State, so as to resume the reckless looting of Delta Treasury, and to reenact the mass exodus of our collective patrimony to foreign banks as they did between 1999 and 2007. The truth of the matter is that they will never succeed.
The Oghareki Grammar School sponsored propaganda turned out to be another failed attempt by the desperate and selfish gang of Oligarchs; because the school was formerly known as Baptist High School, founded in 1970. It was subsequently renamed Oghareki Grammar School in 2014. Baptist High Schools were owned by Baptist Church spread across the defunct Bendel State.
It is the law that once a name change occurs, as in the instant case of the defunct Baptist High School, all documents, academic certificates and references are deemed to have legal effects in the new name. Oghareki Grammar School automatically replaced Baptist High School which is now dead and buried.
This is the position of the laws and other subsisting enactments applicable to statutory name change and change of individual name(s) via validly sworn affidavit.
Affidavit allows for reasonable change of names which automatically validates academic credentials, all other documents and titles genuinely acquired before change of name(s), provided there are strong evidential proof that the Deponent is the bonafide owner of documents, certificates and items stated in the validly sworn affidavit.
Cases relating to discrepancies; alterations, forgery, impersonation and document frauds generally comes under criminal jurisdence and the prosecution must prove his case beyond reasonable doubt, failure to do so retains the status quo and the accused person discharged and acquitted. Quack social media legal opinion has no place in Law and must be ignored by the reading public.
Once a school name had been changed legally, the new name takes effect automatically, because the old name ceases to exit and can no longer be mentioned or imputed in any official correspondence. Therefore, it will be illegal and void for Elder Oborevwori to indicate in any PDP or INEC form that he attended or wrote his school certificate examinations at Baptist High School, Oghareki.
As at the time Oborevwori enrolled for his School certificate in 1999, Mr Jacob Jike was the Principal of Baptist High School, Oghareki now known and addressed as Oghareki Grammar school with effect from 2014. It acquired the assets, liabilities and legal status of the defunct Baptist High School, Oghareki. Harvard University governorship aspirant and his emergency cum amateur media consultants should wake up from their deep intellectual slumber and face reality.
For example, Bendel State is no more and it will be illegal to fill forms and indicate Bendel State in reference to academic certificates acquired from any school prior to the creation of Edo and Delta States from the defunct Bendel State. This is it. This legal fact and principle is unambiguous yet the Harvard people are still confused.
Mr Speaker is more knowledgeable than all the emergency amateur media consultants and Harvard scholars displaying their intellectual malnutrition and verbal diarrhea on social media platforms. As you read this piece, Baptist High School, Oghareki does not exit, whereas Oghareki Grammar School had since inherited the legal status of BHS Ogheraki, period.
Therefore, the date of establishment and/or change of name (2014) written in Oghareki Grammar School sign board goes to no issue. OGS acquired the former status of Baptist High School, Oghareki via legal instruments of state take over or reacquisition, as the case may be.
Deltans are aware that one of the unpopular aspirants and his sponsors are also talking about modernization of Delta State on social media, radio and TV commercials, and you begin to wonder. Governor Okowa’s modernization of the state since 2015 is unprecedented and ongoing.
The question to ask is what kind of modernization did they bring to the state between 1999 and 2007 while in control of our treasury? Your answer is as good as mine. Therefore, their modernization agenda is only a mere smokescreen. Their specific agenda is to once again loot Delta State treasury which Okowa kept away from their itching fingers.
The Oligarchs major achievement between 1999 and 2007 was the massive looting of the State Treasury through unscrupulous financial transactions like the vexed VMobile now Airtel investment fraud and several others wherein David Edevbie as Finance Commissioner facilitated and aided the looting process. This is the major reason why the Oligarchs are bent on bankrolling his governorship aspiration.
Deltans will not allow the same set of people to loot our state Treasury again and again. God forbid. What they directly or indirectly stole from us between 1999 and 2007 is regrettable and there shall be no second chance for them, going forward.
Rt Hon Elder Sheriff Francis Oborevwori is the choice of majority of Deltans as can be seen from the multifaceted endorsements and the remarkable statewide consultation of PDP leaders and delegates wherein he was adopted severally as the sole governorship candidate of PDP in Delta State.
No amount of mudslinging, character assassination, spreading of Photoshop credentials cum falsified documents and name-calling will change the fact that Oborevwori is the incoming governor of Delta State, come 2023. His detractors must of a necessity begin to appreciate this glaring fact and adjust their mindsets accordingly.
Come May 21, the longest-serving Speaker since the creation of Delta State, Rt Hon Elder Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will emerge in a landslide victory as PDP gubernatorial candidate, and God alone will take the glory.
