ASABA/Nigeria: Former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa will serve as Special Guest of Honour at the 2026 edition of the Maris Annual Public Service Lecture, organisers have confirmed.
The disclosure was made in a statement issued on Sunday by Fidelis Egugbo, Secretary of the Maris Trust Council, who said the former governor has assured the organisers of his physical presence despite his demanding schedule. Egugbo, who also serves as Senior Special Assistant on Media to Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, noted that Okowa’s participation reflects his longstanding support for the intellectual platform, which was inaugurated during his tenure in 2019.
According to the organisers, Nigeria’s former Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, will deliver the keynote address on the theme, “Insecurity: Bane of Nigeria’s Unity and Progress.” The lecture is scheduled to hold on April 1, 2026, at Unity Hall Government House in Asaba, beginning at noon.
The event will be chaired by former Chief of Naval Staff Dele Ezeoba, while renowned academic and traditional titleholder Kemi Emina, the OdiEga of Ebu Kingdom, is billed to moderate the discussion session.
Organisers also announced two of the five discussants expected at the lecture: literary scholar Hope Eghagha and former Director of the Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor.
The Maris Annual Public Service Lecture was first convened in 2019 shortly after Okowa’s re-election and ahead of his second-term inauguration, and has since evolved into a prominent forum for national discourse on governance, security, and development.
